


Soulbonded

by YoYoHa



Series: Soulbonded [1]
Category: Food Fantasy
Genre: Blood Drinking, Blowjobs, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence, Enemies to Lovers, I'll add more tags later, M/M, Riding, Sexual Tension, Smut, Some Fluff, Some angst, Vampires, Violence, dubcon, rated M for future chapters, side Black Tea/Milk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-24 17:12:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 31,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15635103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoYoHa/pseuds/YoYoHa
Summary: He hated Red Wine, but was it also true that he might have other feelings for him?“Why wouldn’t I,” Steak said after a pregnant pause, and he heard Red Wine take in a shocked inhale. “You make me stronger. You know exactly how to get on my nerves but when it comes down to it, you’re reliable. Even the humans know we go together, and when I fight with you I feel invincible. So why wouldn’t I?”Red Wine was stunned into silence, and was looking at Steak like he’d grown a second head. After a while, he stood.“You’ve always been terribly straightforward.” Red Wine scoffed, but without the usual heat.Steak looked up at him.“And you’ve always been an insufferable prick. But here we are.”There was a beat before Red Wine smiled and actually let out a light chuckle. It was a sight Steak had never seen before, and it made his heart do strange and unexplainable things.“Right. Get some sleep, we have work to do.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm obviously a bit obsessed with FREAKING FOOD. I tried to not write any multichap works because I don't finish them, but I'm just splitting up a really long one-shot and just calling it multichap so I guess that works! I love these two so much so of course I needed to write about them. There will be eventual smut so if that's not your thing then please move along!
> 
> This is unbeta'd, so if you see any errors, just let me know!

It was always shocking. The feeling of his body materializing from the vast amounts of energy that held the wisps of his soul together. All Food Souls had their own opinions on how they felt about being summoned, but honestly, Steak couldn’t care less. It was strange, but in a moment it was over and he stood in front of his new Master Attendant. He swung his heavy swords to the ground, ablaze with the fire he was capable of summoning, taking his first breath of air. 

“This body, this heart, and this sword shall be forever loyal to you!”

His new Master Attendant gasped slightly, standing in awe as Steak shifted his weight. Few people managed to successfully summon him, and he suspected he’d be reunited with former comrades again. Maybe he was the only one among them of his caliber. 

Oh, how he’d thought wrong. 

The Master Attendant he’d managed to be contracted with was prolific at summoning, and did a fine job running her own restaurant. She was kind, which was pleasant, considering not all Master Attendants treated Food Souls kindly. She even treated Rice fairly, and even amongst the Food Souls she wasn’t highly respected. Not like it mattered what kind of person his Master Attendant was; Steak would always be fearlessly loyal and carry out any job he was asked. 

However, he craved something more fulfilling than the delivery jobs and wilderness exploring he’d been stuck with. 

It was rare that they encountered Fallen Angels strong enough to be worth any fight, and the teams put together seemed to be experimental. Steak only vaguely recognized some of the other Food Souls he traveled with. Long Bao seemed more reliable than he remembered, and he was bubbly as always. There were two girls on his team, Crepe and Macaron that he’d only seen in passing before and never met, and Salad, who barely spoke three words to them. 

Only sometimes did his team get edited to incorporate new people, and when that happened, their Master Attendant always accompanied them, seeming more interested in their team dynamics than their actual mission. 

Some Food Souls, of course, made it into battle once they were summoned. 

It was only briefly but he saw Gingerbread when she was summoned. Steak had heard of her power before, but when he saw her, he was a little confused at how it could be the same person he'd heard such great stories about. She turned her golden eyes towards him and in that moment he understood. She was hardened and resolved, dangerous and fierce, and definitely someone to be feared or respected. Or both. 

He didn’t care too much about making friends, and the only person that seemed like they wanted to talk to him was Hamburger, a relatively young Food Soul. He seemed more human than the rest of them, but that may have been because of his age, and he was very physical, slinging his arm around Steak casually and always challenging him to a friendly duel. 

It was kind of refreshing. 

They would go on missions together. Exploring deep into the depths of the Catacombs and testing their skills, and these battles curbed Steak’s lust for battle, but it was all scripted; every battle planned out. There was little exhilaration of having to think on your feet, and nothing more complex than the simple hack-n-slash.

When Red Wine was summoned, it was as if the hairs on the back of Steak’s neck stood on end. Steak wasn’t there for his summoning, and he didn’t see him, but he _knew_. He wouldn’t necessarily call Red Wine his enemy, but he was definitely hoping he would be summoned to a different Master Attendant, despite the amount of them dwindling. 

“Steak,” their Master Attendant called, interrupting his preparation of his gear for another exploration. 

“Yes, Master Attendant?”

“I’m going to be adding you to the main team.”

Steak’s fire burned brighter, as it typically did when he was excited, and he extinguished those flames, despite controlling them being more difficult than letting them be expressive. 

“Thank you for the honor, I hope that my performance satisfies you.”

His Mater Attendant giggled. 

“I just wanted to tell you that, make sure you prepare yourself, you’ll be leaving tomorrow,” she said before turning and walking away.

He was excited to be in the throes of battle again. He made sure his swords were sharpened and polished, and that he had all his gear prepared. However, the blessing was a double-edged sword. In the morning when he arrived to leave, he was face to face with Red Wine. The other three, Gingerbread, Black Tea, and Milk, seemed like good teammates, but there was immediate tension from the other male.

“Oh. It’s Steak,” he said disheartened, and Steak could feel the fires around him flare with his temper. 

“Get along,” Gingerbread said flatly, dropping the edge of her giant shield in the ground. He realized that she'd probably been made aware of their inability to get along. Steak huffed, but tried to let himself be unbothered by Red Wine’s provocations. He had a mission to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Aside from the trifles Steak and Red Wine got themselves into, the five of them made a pretty great team. It was a good balance as long as they stayed on their toes: well-defended, great attack, and as much as Steak didn’t want to admit it, they made each other stronger. 

They went on many campaigns, and actually being this close to Red Wine all the time gave Steak a sort of immunization to his constant pestering and low jabs. He would get riled up, and the two would be at each other’s throats, but he was starting to think Red Wine bothered him on purpose just to fight him. 

It became the norm. 

They began to fall into a routine. They got used to each other’s fighting styles; they knew which missions they could push forward on, and which ones needed regrouping and maybe a change of the team roster. They bonded as a team, some more quickly than others, but Steak was pleasantly surprised to have other Food Souls he could begin to call friends. 

Which was why when Red Wine slipped up in a battle against a Fallen Angel, Steak lost his cool.

“What the hell’s going on?!” Steak snarled, using a fistful of Red Wine’s coat to push him against the charred tree. As his temper flared, so did his flames, like usual. Milk averted her gaze and pulled Black Tea’s frilled sleeve, urging them to move on. Whenever they went at it, the three girls knew to give them wide berth.

“Get your filthy hands off my clothes,” Red Wine glowered, looking menacingly into Steak’s fiery gaze. The red head couldn’t believe him. Red Wine’s arrogance nearly cost the team their mission, their _lives_. It was known that Steak and Gingerbread could take a hit, and that they were supposed to stay on the front lines. Red Wine’s speed meant he could easily get behind enemies and deal damage, but constantly doing it not only wore Red Wine down, but made him vulnerable to attack. They all _knew_ that.

“You were supposed to stay behind us! You could’ve gotten yourself killed,” Steak retorted. When Red Wine winced, he felt a pang of guilt, but he knew Red Wine was injured. Hell, some of his blood was on his face; however, Steak was enraged at the vampire’s recklessness, feeling a fierce need to protect his teammates.

“And why would you care? If we still succeeded in our mission, it would not have mattered.” Red Wine’s gaze fluttered to the gash on Steak’s arm as they spoke, and he struggled a bit in the red head’s hold. “I would’ve just waited to be summoned again.”

“It matters, moron! We’re living! Right now! We’re here, and we have a job to do. People rely on us. _Master Attendant_ relies on us. You can’t throw that away!” 

Steak let him go, letting Red Wine fall to the ground unceremoniously. He wanted to punch him, but they were all weak and tired, and still had more traveling to go, so he just clenched his fist and walked towards Milk and Black Tea.

“Thank you.”

Later, while he was getting his wounds tended to at their camp, Black Tea came to talk to him. Steak suspected it was an excuse to be around Milk, but it wasn’t like he disliked her presence. 

“For what?” he answered.

Black Tea looked over to where Red Wine and Gingerbread seemed to be having soft conversation. They were just outside of hearing range, but they both seemed relaxed.

“For talking to him. He’s always been reckless. And he never tells anyone what he’s truly feeling,” she said, letting her dark eyes study him.

“He’s kind of like you,” Milk said affectionately toward Black Tea, wrapping gauze around Steak’s arm. Even in the fleeting light of sundown, Black Tea’s blush was perceivable.

“Yes, well. There isn’t anyone looking out for him.”

Milk turned to look at them both. “We’re all looking out for him. As long as we’re a team, we’re a family too.”

No one said anything after that, and Steak ruminated on her words. 

“Family” had a nice ring to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short af chapters I know, it's just the way it breaks down. I kinda wrote this in sections and now those sections are becoming the chapters.
> 
> I'm Nyk on Food Fantasy! Come say hi!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are getting longer! 
> 
> Red Wine is kinda a dick in this, I know, he's so charming to Master Attendant. But since I'm writing this with Steak kinda at the focus I felt it makes sense as to why Red Wine is kinda a mess. We don't get to see all his good and charming moments. Not until later at least!

He hadn’t been reckless like he was weeks ago, but Red Wine seemed to make more mistakes than normal, and when he froze on the battlefield, a lesser Fallen Angel took advantage and rammed him, spiked shell piercing multiple places deep.

“Red!!” Black Tea shouted, expertly sniping the Fallen Angel, the remains crumbling to dust. Red Wine fell to the ground, wheezing as blood oozed slowly from his wounds and mouth. He didn’t have a regular blood flow, but the lack of blood coming from him was still surprising. 

“Red Wine!” Steak shouted in panic from seeing an ally fall on the battlefield.

“We don’t have time to worry about him, Steak,” Gingerbread shouted, an attack thunking off her shield. “On your right!” At the cry, Steak brought up one of his massive swords, using it to shield himself from the Conchi’s punches.

From the corner of his eyes, Red Wine could see Milk rush towards him, and light began to seep from her hands. 

“Stay with us, Red,” she said, her normally monotonous voice hinting at the panic she felt.

“....blood,” Red Wine wheezed in between sputtering breaths.

“What?”

“Need….blood,” he gasped. The healer could see Red Wine’s fangs, colored red but longer than she could remember. For a moment she froze, before remembering him telling her in private that he was a bit different from other Food Souls. He could be healed regularly but without a steady supply of blood, his wounds wouldn't be able to close. Normally he fed from the animals they hunted for meat, but the globs of congealing blood where it would normally ooze signaled to Milk that he hadn’t fed recently. 

“Look out!”

Black Tea’s shout came nearly a moment too late, and a giant spiked shell hurtled towards Milk. From the woods, another Conchi appeared, drawn in by the sounds of battle. Milk and Red Wine were the closest to the new foe, directly in the line of sight, and Black Tea ran over and snatched the healer from around the waist. 

“He needs help,” Milk called, reaching out towards Red Wine. 

“We need to get away from here,” Black Tea responded, narrowly dodging an attack from a Spiked Snail. 

Steak, who already had his hands full with the one Conchi, realized at the same moment as Black Tea that they had to retreat. As much as he would've stayed until the final blaze of glory, they were one man down and struggling against _one_ Conchi and some snails. Another Conchi would've spelled disaster, and Steak had actually grown to care about the people on his team. 

“Gingerbread, we have to run!” he yelled, running towards Red Wine’s broken body. While he charged, he slashed his swords in a fiery blaze, burning back the enemies. He put away one of his swords to grab Red Wine before running the opposite direction of the enemies. Gingerbread scattered to a different location and he couldn’t locate Black Tea or Milk in the surrounding area. The line of fire served as a temporary barrier and bought them the time to escape into the woods. 

The only thought on his mind was getting as far away as possible, and then regrouping. Steak felt like he was running for hours, the weight of his regular gear and also Red Wine’s dead weight slowing him down. He managed to get far away enough from the Fallen Angels, and when he finally allowed himself to rest, he nearly collapsed. 

Red Wine looked even paler than usual, dark blood staining his insufferably fancy clothes. Steak only knew basic first aid, but he began to try and patch up the other Food Soul. Steak saw where Milk had already started, and saw that even the healed skin, which looked revitalized, wasn't closing the wounds together, as if the wounds would never close on their own. He told himself that he couldn’t care less if Red Wine died, since death didn’t mean the same thing to Food Souls, but that he was only doing it because it would inconvenience their Master Attendant. Steak focused on at least patching the open wounds.

“....-d…”

Steak barely heard the faint whisper, and though he had hallucinated it, but then he saw Red Wine’s lips moving. 

“What?” he asked, a bit annoyed.

“...blood.”

Steak felt his hands pause their work. He knew about Red Wine’s condition. Despite their disagreements, they usually ended up working together if they were summoned by the same Master Attendant, and he knew about the vampirism. His heart raced as he thought of his options. 

“You and I both know there aren’t any animals in this area. Do you have any blood bags?” 

Red Wine just wheezed painfully, blurry gaze focused at nothing and tilted towards the trees. He didn’t respond. 

Along with the blood, Steak could see the beginnings of a white, glowing substance leak out from his wounds under their wrappings. 

Even though he hated the guy, he didn’t want to have Red Wine dying in his arms, and if Steak didn’t do anything, the other Food Soul would definitely die. 

But his other alternative was letting Red Wine feed off of him. 

Both options sounded equally terribly. Or so Steak told himself. 

He cursed as he unfastened the collar that held his top closed, and he pulled Red Wine towards him. He made sure to press the vampire’s head right against his skin. 

“..wha…?” Red Wine grumbled blearily. 

“Just shut up and drink. I told you before, didn’t I? You’re not allowed to die yet,” Steak complained. He knew he’d regret this later, and he was feeling the twinges of embarrassment from getting himself into this position, but considering it was the only thing to do to save Red Wine, he had no other option. 

It was slow at first, and Steak was worried Red Wine did actually die, but he heard a scoff before the sharp stab of Red Wine’s fangs went into his neck. Steak couldn’t help but curse out loud, but let Red Wine stay. After some weak suction against his neck, Steak could feel the blood flowing. Despite the pain of being bitten, being fed from didn’t feel that bad, though Steak would never admit that he actually thought it felt good. 

As Red Wine fed, he got a little bolder, drinking with more ferocity than at first, and Steak felt himself going dizzy, before everything turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think this is where the substance of a plot shows up. 
> 
> I'm Nyk on Food Fantasy! Holla at a girl!


	4. Chapter 4

_Lips, wisps of smoke, and an irritating voice that called his name…  
He never felt so relaxed or contended, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Light as a feather, floating through nothingness until the end of eternity. But there was also energy. Burning hot and electric that seeped into every one of his cells, urging his soul on to search for something, something, something..._

\------------------

When Steak awoke, he was in his room. 

He felt groggy, but he could recognize the room he’d come to call his own. He groaned when he opened his eyes, mouth feeling dry.

“Here. Drink some water.” 

It took a few moments too many to place the voice, and as he blinked sleep away, Steak realized Black Tea was in his room. She was holding a glass of water out to him, and Steak let himself drink from it greedily.

“Milk just left to go grab some more supplies, she’ll be back in a moment.”

Ah, so that explains why Black Tea was in his room. She came here with Milk. Steak sighed and looked up at the ceiling and for a while the two sat in silence.

“We were worried, you know,” Black Tea started. “Gingerbread found us after we split up and told us she only saw which direction you two headed. It took us a while to find you.”

Steak’s face twisted into a grimace and he stared at the wall. He hadn’t meant to worry anybody. Steak was only thinking of their highest chances of survival, and in that moment, it was getting away from the enemy.

“We also saw the bite.”

Steak prickled at that, turning to glare at Black Tea, as if she was in trouble for speaking about it. Black Tea had known there were few things Steak got defensive about. The reason his flames burned brighter around their Master Attendant, and why he held on to his convictions were some of those topics. But Black Tea was surprised he was so ruffled from Red Wine’s bite. 

“You did what you had to do so that you both could survive. It’s okay,” she said, trying her best to console, despite her rather unaffectionate voice. Steak knew she meant well, but tried to hide the embarrassment of it. 

There was also that burning, that he’d never felt before, and Steak felt pulled to somewhere or something he didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if Black Tea would understand, she didn’t seem the type to talk about feelings anyways, but that dream lingered in his mind, and whether it was because he just woke up, or the potency of it, Steak could forget the indescribable urge to do _something_.

“I was scared, when I saw him fall. I always am,” Steak admitted softly, clutching his bed sheets. It wasn’t anything he’d ever tell anyone else, but his head felt weird, and the words were out of his mouth before he knew they were in his heart or mind.

“I understand,” Black Tea replied. “I get the same way with Milk.”

Steak looked at her incredulously, and for a moment, he tried to understand the meaning behind her words. Was she comparing his relationship with Red Wine to her relationship with Milk? He knew there was something between the two women, though touches remained discreet and momentary. The verbal confirmation felt like a confession, and Steak didn’t know what to make of her words.

They sat in silence until Milk returned to tend to him. Steak clenched his hands together when she was done, wishing he had his swords and that he could just fight something until his head was clear enough to make out all these thoughts. 

Getting their team up and running for battle took longer than expected.

During the process, Steak had barely seen Red Wine, and he finally only caught him going off on his own to hunt. Steak felt that indescribable pull, and a bubble of panic rose in him as a picture of a lifeless Red Wine came to mind, split open by a boar, or cut down by a foe waiting in the shadows.

“It’s dangerous to go alone, let me at least come with you,” he said, catching Red Wine before he slipped behind the tree line. The vampire glared at him, but voiced no opposition as he continued into the forest. It was a bit odd that he hadn’t at least argued, but Steak felt relief that Red Wine was allowing him to tag along.

The two said nothing as they stalked into the brush. Steak caught Red Wine looking at him from the corner of his eyes, though the darker haired male quickly glanced back. Steak couldn’t describe why it made him feel unnerved and uneasy. He was still feeling pulled to something, though as they stayed silent in the woods, Steak grew increasingly frustrated. For an hour the two continued like this until Steak was fed up.

“If you have something to say, say it,” Steak said, crossing his arms and breaking the silence they’d had.

“I swear, do you not know how to keep your mouth shut? We’re hunting. You need to stay quiet.”

That comment irked Steak, and he physically put himself in Red Wine’s way. 

“What’s with you? You’re being weird lately. Are the blood bags not working out?” He meant it as a jab, but the way Red Wine’s eyes narrowed and he huffed indignantly told Steak he hit the nail on the head. He followed the vampire, expecting an answer, and when he never got one, asked again.

“No, they aren’t working!” Red Wine snapped. His fangs grew a bit longer and Steak took a cautious step back. “I thought fresh game might be better, so please be quiet.”

The redhead held his hands up defensively as a response and they continued on.

Nearly an hour later they got track of a boar, and Red Wine hunted it expertly, killing the animal before it even knew he was coming. Steak followed, knowing that they could take the exsanguinated meat once Red Wine was does, but the vampire seemed hesitant to feed.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Steak asked, a bit annoyed. He didn’t enjoy beating around the bush. Red Wine rolled his eyes and pressed his mouth to the nearest artery, puncturing a hole and sucking the blood out. However, not even a minute into the feeding, Red Wine began to cough and vomit the blood up.

“What the hell, are you okay?” Steak asked, walking closer to the vampire.

“Don’t come near me!” he insisted, covering his bloody mouth. Steak stopped in his tracks as Red Wine looked down at the boar carcass. “It’s just the same as the bags.”

There was a pregnant pause and Steak clenched his fists. Red Wine wasn’t able to feed from blood bags or wild game anymore. He’d heard tales from older Food Souls about how Red Wine would terrorize villages and suck the people dry in a thirsty rampage. Moving to an animal only diet put a stop to his terrific reign, but if he could no longer feed from animals, then there would be nothing stopping him from feeding on humans. 

“You can’t feed from live animals and you can’t feed from the bags,” Steak said flatly. The two of them glared at each other, and Red Wine stood, wiping his mouth delicately with a handkerchief. 

Steak’s heart began to beat fast, pumping the very liquid he knew Red Wine needed. His hands twitched as he thought about how fast he would need to draw his swords to cut Red Wine down. The vampire was nimbler than him so it would be difficult to land a hit, but as long as he could land one good attack, he’d be able to make sure Red Wine wouldn’t be able to terrorize anyone. 

“I know that look, you’re putting your 2 brain cells together to think. How cute,” Red Wine scoffed. “But no worry, I already know what’s going through your mind. Go ahead and cut me down. I’ll let you this time, since you wouldn’t be able to beat me otherwise.”

Steak’s fist connected squarely with Red Wine’s jaw and the vampire stumbled backwards. 

“No need for the foreplay, Steak. You can just kill me-“

“Shut up!” he roared, sending another fist his way. His flames raged rampantly, licking dangerously close to the foliage surrounding them. Red Wine always pissed him off, but something about him throwing his life away filled Steak with rage and fury like he’d never known. He shoved at the vampire until he fell unceremoniously on his ass, and Steak kicked him so his back was on the ground. 

Red Wine glowered at him, and spit a mouthful of blood to the side. “Absolutely uncalled for, you uncouth and savage-“

Another punched landed on Red Wine’s jaw, and Steak climbed on top of him to give him a thorough beatdown. He didn’t know why he was so upset. It was one of the rare times they actually agreed on something. Red Wine would be dangerous if he couldn’t feed off bags or animals, and he had been thinking of taking him out. So why?

Something that could only be described as his heart lurching paused Steak in his tracks, and Red Wine used that moment to flip them over. He was pissed, and his long fangs glistened in the sun with red blood. 

“Why must it be such a ruthless idiot like you?” he said, confusing Steak, before he sunk his fangs in Steak’s exposed neck. 

Steak shouted in pain, but in moments the pain melted away like butter. First he felt nothing aside from the pressure of his blood getting sucked out, as if he’d had an anesthetic, but slowly that feeling melted into pleasure. Not the kind he felt a twinge of the first time, but legitimate pleasure from having his blood sucked. 

“What the f-fuck?!” he cursed, finding his arms too weak to push Red Wine off of him. The vampire let out a low growl and ice shot through Steak. He quit struggling despite everything in him telling him to push Red Wine off and kill him. Panic began to mount in him as he felt dizzy again. 

Red Wine was going to kill him, and there would be nothing Steak could do to stop him from killing others too. In times of crisis his panic and adrenaline kept him goal-oriented, but now he felt boneless. He also wouldn’t be able to deny the lust that crept through him as he felt Red Wine draw blood from him. 

“Stop,” he groaned, feeling his eyelids flutter against drowsiness, but before he could go completely under, Red Wine stopped. 

Through bleary eyes, he could see red flush on the vampire’s face as he panted, Steak’s blood on his lips. 

“But you don’t really mean that? Do you, Steak?”

He didn’t have the energy to ask what Red Wine could’ve possibly meant, and his head was swimming from lack of blood flow. Steak could barely think through the haziness, and the odd euphoria on top of that made his thoughts even more jumbled. He closed his eyes to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case anyone was wondering, I figured it would make sense if vampires could use magic to make a bite not hurt anymore, that way they can feed from one person for a long time before killing them or turning them. I imagine it works on a pain to pleasure scale and they can kind of amp it up, or not use it at all. Red Wine was close to dying, which is why when he first fed from Steak, it hurt. The "twinge of pleasure" was Steak's own masochism. But since Red Wine is able-bodied (albeit, a bit hungry), he amped it up to keep Steak from fighting as much. It's a little important later I guess but I didn't really have time to explain it in depth.
> 
> Hope that clear up some questions you guys may have! I'm Nyk on Food Fantasy, come team up with me!


	5. Chapter 5

When he awoke, he was still in the forest, though the sun had long sunk below the horizon. He didn’t hurt, but he felt stiff, and it took a while for Steak to recount what happened. When he did, he sat up with a start. 

“Oh, calm down, I’m still here.”

Hearing Red Wine’s voice was strange. Steak felt an odd rush of emotions on top of the regular irritation. 

“What the fuck was all that?” Steak asked, his voice more gravely than usual from sleep. 

Red Wine had taken it upon himself to skin the boar carcass while Steak was out, and looked up from his work flatly. 

“I took some of your blood. Don’t worry, it will replenish itself shortly.”

Steak hadn’t been expecting such a straight answer from him, and was a bit shocked. He touched the skin where Red Wine fed, and was surprised it didn’t hurt. When he was bitten the first time, it never stopped hurting. He still had a faint bruise from that time too. 

“I tried to make it not hurt as bad as last time, I hear you complained a great deal about the pain,” Red Wine explained without Steak having to even ask. It was creepy. 

In fact, Red Wine acting like nothing strange happened at all was kind of creepy. 

Steak narrowed his eyes at Red Wine in the darkness, skeptical of the vampire. He stood, placing his hands threateningly on his swords. Red Wine looked up, and sighed before wiping his hands off with his handkerchief. 

“There’s no need for that anymore. I know your true feelings, and I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement.”

“True feelings?” Steak asked, ignoring the dizziness he experienced from standing up too fast. 

“I can taste them, every time I feed from you. It’s what makes you different. It’s why I’ve developed a _fixation_.” Red Wine curled his lips at the last word, as if the idea itself disgusted him. 

Millions of questions and feelings were swarming in Steak’s head. What did he actually mean by “true feelings”? Steak wasn’t even sure he himself knew what his feelings were. Had they been there the first time Red Wine fed on him? And what exactly was a fixation?

“What’s a fixation?”

Red Wine pursed his lips. “Help me with this boar. I’ll explain on the way.”

In silence, the two hoisted up the heavy carcass. Steak still wasn’t 100%, so he wobbled a bit as they walked. They walked in silence for a while before Red Wine spoke. 

“I guess I can best describe a fixation as a preference for a certain person’s blood. Though it’s a little more complicated than that, and I stop being able to digest blood from anyone else.”

At this point, Steak didn’t know how to feel, and whatever had made him unable to feel the pain of Red Wine’s bite also dulled his emotions. 

“Okay? So when will you be able to go back to feeding off animals?” Steak question, shifting the weight of the boar. Why did they have to hunt down such a big boar? Red Wine didn’t respond, and in the silence, Steak could feel the licks of irritation. 

“When will-“

“I don’t know,” Red Wine interrupted, strangely calm and a bit morose. “Fixations are a vampire’s natural incentive to turn a human. After developing a fixation the only way to stop it is once the human also turns. However, as a Food Soul, you won’t be able to be turned from a bite,” Red Wine explained. 

“Then how are you a vampire? Nothing about red wine seems particularly vampric,” Steak grumbled. 

Red Wine scowled. “I would rather not say. I was not originally a vampire; however, human experimentation caused me to end up this way. I am the only one of my kind.”

The Academy. Steak knew not to try and pursue that train of thought.

“Okay,” he said, “So that means you’re going to have to drink from me forever?” The question came as a surprised to Steak himself, specifically how calm he'd asked, and Red Wine looked over at him, a mix of shock and confusion on his face. Steak was also confused. Normally there wouldn’t be anything that would make his stomach turn more than the idea of having to be Red Wine’s personal lifeline for the rest of their lives. 

“I would hope it’s only until we die,” Red Wine added. 

He didn’t know why, but the response gave Steak a sinking feeling in his gut. 

“As long as you don’t bother Master Attendant, I can probably get used to it,” Steak grumbled, unsettled by the tumultuous feelings that were threatening to break through the odd haze that was numbing him physically and emotionally. 

They walked in silence a bit more, and Steak realized his strength was returning to him, even though his head was still reeling. When they reached the restaurant and the building they slept in, their Master Attendant ran out in a worry. 

“Steak, Red Wine, are you two okay?” she asked, the panic evident on her face. Milk came out as well, behind her heels, though her expression betrayed nothing. Both women took in their disheveled figures and the dried blood on Red Wine’s clothes, and got a vague understanding of the situation. 

“We just went hunting, Master Attendant. Sorry for worrying you,” Steak said brusquely, but with a charm that put the Master Attendant’s heart at ease. She sighed in relief, before turning to where other Food Souls had gathered at the door. 

“Hamburger, Tempura, come help these two with this meat!” she called. The two came out and lifted the burden from the two. “Have Milk or Miso Soup look you over before heading to bed. I’m postponing your next campaign until the day after tomorrow.”

She spoke so authoritatively that they couldn’t argue, even if they disagreed. Steak and Red Wine went their separate ways and got washed up before being examined. Luckily, Steak had Miso Soup check up on him, and he didn’t comment about his low blood pressure or an extra set of marks. 

He was written off for a clean bill of health, but to sleep and take it easy for the next day. However, that was easier said than done. Now that Steak’s strength had nearly come to him completely, his head cleared up, and he was bombarded with a million thoughts and questions that kept him up until after most of the Food Souls turned in. 

Steak found himself up and wandering their dormitories. The restaurant was still open, serving lighter fare along with alcohol for travelers, but he needed to clear his mind, so he went to the grassy knoll outside their lodgings. When he reached the cusp of the small hill, he saw Red Wine was also sitting. He was in much lighter wear than normal, with only a white, billowing shirt tucked into some black pants. He wasn’t as adorned with jewelry, choosing to wear a necklace and a few rings, and his hair wasn’t tied back. If Steak hadn’t been so acquainted with him, he wouldn’t have recognized him. 

He felt a rush at seeing Red Wine, and one of his earlier questions came to mind. 

_”What do you mean by ‘true feelings’.”_

Before Steak could even say anything. Red Wine sighed and turned to him. 

“Did you need something?”

Honestly, Steak was surprised that he could notice him from the distance they stood. He walked closer and sat beside the vampire. 

“That’s a bit creepy,” he said, naturally inclined to rile up the younger-looking man. He knew Red Wine was actually much older than him, but his appearance did nothing to betray his age. 

“I can smell your blood. You have some cuts,” Red Wine replied matter-of-factly. Steak just hummed in response. 

They sat in an awkward silence, neither knowing or wanting to fill it with any more questions. But it was necessary. 

“What did you mean earlier when you said you knew my ‘true feelings’?” Steak asked. He was reluctant in asking, something he would normally be completely against in regards to Red Wine. Reluctance was weakness, and Steak wasn’t weak. The idea of talking about soft things like feelings and emotions wasn't suited to him. 

“Ah,” Red Wine said, looking up at the moon as he pondered his answer. Steak let him think, though he felt impatience scratch at him from not having an immediate response. “It wasn’t clear, but I can always taste any strong or lingering emotions through someone’s blood. It’s never very strong, but I guess today was an exception.”

Steak knew he wasn’t finished, despite Red Wine pausing, so he waited on him to continue. 

“Blood is like wine in that way. If you’re well-versed enough, you can give a good estimate on vintage, age, other things. If someone isn’t sure of their own feelings, the taste is a bit muddled, but I’m familiar enough that I can pick out the major themes.” There was another long pause before Red Wine turned to Steak. “Earlier, when you told me to stop, I knew it wasn’t true. Not completely. I know you hate me, but I could also sense that you held a...peculiar fondness for me.”

Immediately, Steak felt defensive about the confession, and the fire that was always around him burned a little hotter, making the vampire flinch away from him in disgust. But as the moments passed and nothing happened, Steak felt his temper dissipate, along with his flames. 

He hated Red Wine, but was it also true that he might have other feelings for him?

“Why wouldn’t I,” Steak said after a pregnant pause, and he heard Red Wine take in a shocked inhale. “You make me stronger. You know exactly how to get on my nerves but when it comes down to it, you’re reliable. Even the humans know we go together, and when I fight with you I feel invincible. So why wouldn’t I?”

Red Wine was stunned into silence, and was looking at Steak like he’d grown a second head. After a while, he stood. 

“You’ve always been terribly straightforward.” Red Wine scoffed, but without the usual heat. 

Steak looked up at him. 

“And you’ve always been an insufferable prick. But here we are.”

There was a beat before Red Wine smiled and actually let out a light chuckle. It was a sight Steak had never seen before, and it made his heart do strange and unexplainable things. 

“Right. Get some sleep, we have work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> da-da-da-DAAAAAHHHH A CONFESSION (kind of).
> 
> Things just get more fun from here. 
> 
> Come yell at me on Food Fantasy! (Nyk)


	6. Chapter 6

Steak found himself crowded into a corner or behind a building far too often for his liking. Red Wine would come to him, demand a feeding and then leave after he took his fill. The intimacy from after their moment in the woods was gone, and Red Wine always left in a hurry afterwards, a bit dazed. Red Wine seldom fed during campaigns, and wasn’t making the mistakes he would make before, so it wasn't long before Steak learned he could go a week between feedings. 

For a few months the feedings were sporadic and had long intervals in-between. Red Wine would make sure there was enough time and privacy for no one to stumble upon them, and he would make sure to use magic to help the process be not as painful. Though, feeding sessions would typically be finished with Steak in an awkward and uncomfortable haze with Red Wine clearing his throat before taking his leave. 

However, recently, that wasn’t the case.

“Steak.”

Said Food Soul was eating, replenishing the iron that was being taken from him regularly. Red Wine had just come to him the day before so Steak thought it was weird he was being called upon. 

“You can’t need another one. You just fed yesterday.”

Red Wine didn’t respond, but he didn’t move either. Steak shrugged before leaving his seat, brushing past the vampire to head to the nearest closest. As opposed to either of their rooms, closets had become the most convenient spot, even though Steak disagreed with a space so public.

As Steak turned down a hallway, he was pinned against a door by Red Wine, the vampire licking at his lips. They hadn’t ever kissed, and immediately Steak was alarmed. When Red Wine bit his lip and drew blood, it was the final straw. 

“Ow, shit, Red! What are you doing?!” he asked, struggling against the vampire’s hold. He shoved the darker haired male off of him, and wiped at his lip. “What has gotten into you? Can’t you just wait at least a few more days?”

Red Wine didn’t look any worse for wear, and Steak was wondering what was driving his compulsion to feed so frequently. The kiss was also confusing as well, and Steak would appreciate an explanation about that. The vampire refused to make eye contact, and he clicked his tongue before turning to leave. 

“Wait,” Steak said, grabbing his arm. “You’re not leaving until I get a straight answer. You can’t just do that and walk off.”

Red Wine’s regular glare was turned towards Steak, but there was something else in the look he gave him that made the younger Food Soul shiver. Ever since he’d let Red Wine feed off of him, their relationship got a little strange, and feedings would leave Steak hot and bothered, creating heaps of one-sided sexual tension that the red head was still deciding if he liked or not. 

“Come to my room,” Red Wine said hesitantly. “After dinner, you’ll understand.”

The voice he spoke with was surprisingly tender. It sounded similar to the kind of flowery language he would load upon women and their Master Attendant. Steak had always thought it was obnoxious of him to put on airs, but he couldn’t help but admit that it was a little nice. And Red Wine’s words alone conveyed a message with some sort of weight. Steak tried not to think too hard about what they could be discussing in Red Wine’s room alone at night, and in that moment, his grip loosened and Red Wine broke from it. He thought about chasing after him, but they would talk later. 

Steak just sighed in frustration and decided he may as well go about his day. When he rounded the corner, he nearly crashed into Hamburger.

“Hey, man, watch where you’re going,” he said, before realizing he’d bumped into Steak. “Oh! Steak! How are you?”

Steak could see that Hamburger had his skateboard with him, which meant he was headed out. Since the red head had gotten moved to the main team, he hadn’t been around much to see other Food Souls, and while the attachment he was feeling for his team wasn't really comparable to his relationship with anyone else, he still felt like he missed Hamburger. 

“Fine,” he said stiffly, and he maneuvered to walk past Hamburger. 

“Wait, hold on, where’s the fire?” he asked, grabbing Steak’s hand. He was always overly affectionate and physical, and Steak glared at the younger man. “How ‘bout we go duke it out? I’ve been having to settle with Tempura but he’s not really any match for me.”

Steak thought about the Food Soul in question. He seemed to recall Tempura being pretty built, so he was a tad surprised Hamburger saw him as little to no competition. The conversation he just had with Red Wine was weighing on him, and he figured sparring a bit would help clear his head; it always did. 

“Sure,” he answered gruffly, following the younger Food Soul out to the grassless and rocky area affectionately dubbed the Food Souls’ “training grounds”. It wasn’t anything official, but this just happened to be where people came to spar with each other, or train their skills. 

Steak considered himself a tried-and-true warrior, which was one of the reasons fighting with Hamburger could be considered fun. As someone who specialized in defense, Steak didn’t really enjoy sparring with Food Souls that used magic. It wasn’t like he could do a whole lot blocking an attack that wasn’t physical. Even though he could manipulate flames, it wasn’t something he’d honed, and his fire made for poor attacks unless paired with his heavy swords. Hamburger, however, used his skateboard to attack. It had been modified, but Steak thought that even getting his with a normal skateboard had to pack quite a punch. If it were anyone else except Hamburger, they probably couldn’t make it work, so Steak found excitement trying to come up with other ways to block and attack him. 

And whether is was the fact that his head was more jumbled than usual, or if Red Wine’s feeding habits were starting to take their toll, Steak found himself landing squarely on his ass after taking a direct hit in the face from Hamburger’s skateboard. 

“Oh shit, man, I thought you were totally going to block that one,” he said, truly apologetic as he reached out a hand to help him up. Steak glared at him, holding his bleeding nose, before head-butting Hamburger, jabbing him with his horns.

“Ouch! I said sorry!” 

Steak let Hamburger help him up, and patted the dirt from his clothes. His nose really hurt, and judging from the blood coming out, he might need to have someone look at it. Not like he hadn’t had worse before, though. 

“You’re getting stronger,” Steak commented, putting away his swords.

Hamburger smiled wide. “I’ve been working hard! But seriously, should I come with you to find a healer? That looks nasty.” Steak waved his hand in dismissal. 

“It’ll be fine, but I’ll see you some other time.”

After sparring with Hamburger, Steak felt like his head was a little clearer, despite the pain coming from his nose, and outside of his injury, nothing really plagued his mind. Of course he still had concerns, but minor things took their spot on the back-burner and he stopped being as worried about other, Red Wine things.

When he saw Black Tea gathering supplies, he walked over to her. He knew she wouldn’t be too far away from Milk.

“Black Tea,” he said as a greeting. “Where’s Milk?”

“Contrary to popular belief, we’re not always together,” she said, and while others may take her deadpan expression and flat speech to mean irritation, Steak knew by the relaxed line in her shoulders and the absence of a crease between her brows that she was making some light-hearted banter. “What happened to your face?”

“Spar,” he answered plainly, “And you guys are together a lot,” he said, holding his hand out to help grab some of her supplies. She passed Steak one of the backpacks which contained medical gear. Even if he was bleeding from his nose, that wouldn’t excuse him from not being a gentleman.

“No more than you’re together with Red Wine.”

Steak nearly dropped the bag.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, only mild worry creeping up on him. It honestly wouldn’t be a big deal if Black Tea knew about their relationship, not that there was anything there to begin with. But whatever it was, Steak knew he could trust Black Tea with anything, so when she raised an eyebrow that begged him to try and argue, he sighed.

“There’s not really anything going on,” he said, voice a bit lower in case others were within ear shot. “There’s some weird vampire thing happening so I let him feed off me from time to time.”

Steak saw immediately when Black Tea furrowed her eyebrows, but her voice was level and she looked otherwise unbothered. 

“I thought he moved to just animals?”

“Yeah, but after that one fight we had, you remember, with the Conchis, he hasn’t been able to hold anything down.” It felt odd, explaining the situation to Black Tea, who seemed to grow increasingly concerned.

“That’s pretty dangerous. How do we know he won’t try and feed from someone else?” Black Tea mused.

“He won’t,” Steak responded firmly. “I’ve got it under control.”

Black Tea looked at him skeptically. It wasn’t comforting, especially considering Steak wasn’t sure he had anything under control at all, but Black Tea didn’t say anything as they continued their walk, and when they reached the medical wing, Steak wasn’t surprised. The set their bags down on a table and signed for them, before Black Tea turned to him.

“Steak, you’re important to me, which is why I’m going to tell you this once. I don’t know the whole story with Red Wine and you. I don’t need to know, but make sure that you figure yourselves out before you start making mistakes in the field. Our battles are only going to get tougher and you need to be 100%.” 

He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Black Tea speak so much at once, even though she didn’t even say a whole lot. Her brief lecture hit home, however, and Steak just nodded. A hint of a smile graced her lips before she reached out to Steak’s face. She took his nose in her delicate hands and pushed it back in place.

“Fuck,” he growled, feeling his flames surge at the pain, but it wasn’t throbbing as much, and it felt much more normal.

“I learned that from Milk, have her check on you,” Black Tea said before leaving. Following her suggestion, Steak wandered the medical wing before he spotted the white-haired girl, tending to some plants in the window. 

“Milk,” he said, curt as ever in his greeting. The other Food Soul turned to look at him and sighed when she saw the blood on his face. Her expression was as emotionless as ever as she tugged Steak into one of the rooms and had him sit. She pulled out a kit from one of the cabinets and began looking over his injury, and when she deemed all was well and fine with his nose, she used some magic and pressed two fingers on his face. 

“That should help with the pain and swelling,” she said. Steak nodded and when he stood to leave, Milk called out to him. 

“If you walk around looking like a mosquito buffet, people might ask questions,” Milk said, pulling a can of salve from her dress pocket. “You can put this on the bites to help them heal up quicker.”

Steak took the salve without saying anything, and he began to wonder if it was that obvious to everyone that something had happened with Red Wine. As he left, he started thinking about what Black Tea had told him about figuring himself out. Steak always thought he had himself pretty much figured out. He was straight-forward, loyal, and enjoyed fighting. For such a long time he’d lived his life following his Master Attendant’s orders and sticking to his regular routine, but now, Red Wine threw everything off balance. Since they started their arrangement, Steak found himself hating Red Wine less, but the intensity never went away. He knew that his view of Red Wine was changing, that _he _was changing.__

__But was Red Wine changing too?_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, like pretty much all my stuff, this fic is unbeta'd. If you see any mistakes please let me know! I really love getting feedback, whether it's here, or through Food Fantasy! hit me up there! Even if you just wanna say hey, I'm always down for that! I'm Nyk!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both this chapter and the last came out later than I anticipated! I got caught up with the fanart event and I've been drawing in my freetime instead of editing and posting this. Please forgive me! 
> 
> For the few of you there are that are actually following and loving this work, I'm so happy you're here! We finally get some action in this chapter!!
> 
> EDIT: AUAUGHUDFHGDHGIRGERI YOU GUYS I'M SO SORRY I MESSED UP BIG TIME THERE WAS NEARLY AN ENTIRE THOUSAND WORDS I COMPLETELY LEFT OUT ON ACCIDENT!!!!!!!! I guess that's what I get for trying to post new chapters half asleep orz
> 
> Thank you demonsavocado for drawing my attention to the formatting mess-up that alSO DREW MY ATTENTION TO THE MISSING REST OF THIS CHAPTER UGH.

There was a flutter of nerves when Steak was going to go meet Red Wine, but he stamped it out with much-needed personal training. As long as he was by himself, he was sure he wouldn’t run into any more injuries. He made sure to change out of the clothes he’d dripped blood on, and he rubbed some of Milk’s salve on some of the fresher bite marks. While he wasn’t surprised that it worked, it helped him train with ease and efficiency that he didn’t notice he stopped having. 

He saw Tempura talking with Samna Shioyaki on one of his cool downs, and was surprised that such a calm and collected guy was hanging out with Tempura. Maybe others thought similarly about him and Red Wine; that it was odd they were hanging around each other.

He finished up is set and went to dinner, keeping his head clear until he went to Red Wine’s. Standing in front of his door, he felt the telltale flip of his stomach that signaled the nervous rush before a big foe, and Steak knocked on the door. 

“Come in,” Red Wine replied from the other side of the wood. When Steak entered, he was surprised to see that Red Wine’s room was quite neat and barren. Only some jewelry was displayed on the small desk, and there was nothing personal in the room at all. “I could smell you from halfway down the hall. Were you training?” 

Steak furrowed his brow and sniffed under his armpit. He didn’t really find that he smelled worse than usual, but maybe it was just Red Wine who could smell it. 

“You didn’t bring me here to feed again, did you?” he said after he took a few steps in the room and shut the door. 

“I did,” Red Wine replied nonchalantly. The straightforward answer irked Steak, and he glared at the vampire. For a few moments they just gave each other hard stares before Steak huffed, crossing the room to sit in the chair from Red Wine’s desk. 

“Why do you suddenly care about privacy now?” Steak asked in irritation. If Red Wine wanted to feed, there was no reason to make such an event of it. Yeah, Steak was pissed that he was being more pushy with when and where he got his blood, but Steak really just wanted Red Wine to wait a few more days or at least wait until they got in the closet. And of course, Steak couldn’t forget that kiss that came out of nowhere. 

Red Wine didn’t answer his question, and patted the space on the bed beside him. 

“Sit.”

Steak growled and crossed his arms. 

“I’m not a dog,” he spat, unmoving from where he sat across from Red Wine. 

“Will you please come sit here?” Red Wine adjusted, and even though he was being accommodating, Steak didn’t like hearing him ask. If he didn’t already know that either way he’d end up as Red Wine’s dinner, he would’ve argued just out of spite. And he nearly did, but after a few terse moments, he dispelled his flames and stood to plop himself on Red Wine’s bed. He went ahead and shrugged off his outer coat, leaving him in his cropped black top that needed unfastening. 

“What happened to your face?” Red Wine asked, his brows knitted together in concern. Milk hadn’t lied when she said she helped with the swelling, but it was still swollen a tad around his nose, and the area under his eyes looked a bit dark. 

“Spar, why do you care?” Steak asked, throwing his coat to rest on the chair he was previously sitting on. Red Wine’s frown deepened at his comment, and he placed a hand on Steak’s chest to push him down. 

The action elicited an immediate response, and Steak felt his heart rate pick up. His horns scraped the wall on his way down, and he winced at the noise it made. 

“What are you doing?” 

Red Wine leaned over him, and unfastened the buckle around his neck. “I figure I’d make you more comfortable.” Steak could tell that he was thinking something, and considering that he was only getting confused on Red Wine’s odd behavior, he grabbed the other man’s hands to stop him. 

“What the hell is going on?” he asked, finally reaching his limit, “you’ve been sucking my blood almost every couple of days, and you’re acting weird.” He didn’t want to be the first one to breach the subject of the kiss earlier, but he could feel his cheeks warm as he thought about it. And the close contact and the fact he was lying on Red Wine’s bed didn’t help either. 

Red Wine’s lips twitched up into a small grin. “Do you really want to know?” To Steak, it seemed sardonic and condescending, and he curled his own lip, sitting up on his elbows.

“Why else would I ask?” he snapped. 

“Hm, I suppose that’s fair,” Red Wine responded. He picked at a splinter of wood that was caught in his clothes from training. “I supposed I could say I find myself quite enamored with you.”

The confession came as a shock, and shocked Steak. If only his words were foes, that he could easily buffet instead of feeling so overwhelmed.

“You _what_?!”  
Red Wine rolled his eyes. “Enamored? I actually _enjoy_ your company? I would like to be more intimate with you? I’d enjoy-“

“Stop, I know what ‘enamored’ means!” Steak yelled, “But why? How? Is this part of the fixation thing?”

The vampire seemed very level-headed, much to Steak’s chagrin, and he picked at his fingernails. “Not likely,” he responded, and he gave a singular laugh as he watched Steak try and process the information. “I know, it came as quite a bit of a surprise to me as well. 

Steak’s mind was reeling. He didn’t understand how Red Wine was possibly telling the truth, and if he was, how was he being so nonchalant? Steak would think it would be more of a big deal, to confess your love to someone. He certainly thought it was a big deal. It didn’t make sense, and it seemed like it came out of nowhere. They _hated_ each other.

But that wasn’t really true, was it?

Overwhelmed, Steak decided to deal with this like he did with all his issues, and punched Red Wine in the face. He took the moment the vampire was recoiling to stand from his bed, flames bursting forth from his rage. 

“How the _hell_ can you be so calm about this?!”

“Steak, you really do need to stop punching people when you get confused. It’s not a becoming habit of you,” Red Wine said wiping at his jaw. 

“Fuck you,” Steak snarled, turning to leave his room. This must be another one of Red Wine’s jokes. He wanted this reaction. And here Steak thought the older Food Soul had changed, but it was just like always, except now, Steak had a heart full of tumultuous emotions that warred between staying and leaving. 

“Wait,” Red Wine said, and before Steak could take another step, the vampire was blocking his exit. He’d nearly forgotten how fast Red Wine could be. 

This close, Red Wine could easily look down on him, using his height to his advantage. Normally, he had no scent, but Steak could smell a faint hint of lavender, and wondered briefly if it was coming from Red Wine’s hair. His heart thundered in his chest, excited by how close they were. Despite the vampire’s youthful appearance, Steak knew that he had more experience that he could ever know. Standing this close muddled his head, and he felt again that strong pull to do _something _.__

“Move,” Steak growled, glaring directly into Red Wine’s eyes. 

The other stared at him just as hard, before the corner of his lip twitched up. 

“Make me.”

Steak wanted to punch him again, so when he reached up for him to grab the neck of his frilled shirt and felt thin lips against his own, he was relieved, and confused. There was a thud from Steak slamming Red Wine against his door when he surged forward, but it was lost on him in the feel and taste of Red Wine’s lips. Red Wine wasted no time in deepening the kiss, seeming to fight Steak for dominance as it turned rough and sloppy. The vampire pushed Steak away from him, and for a brief moment, he looked more dangerous than Steak could remember. 

He didn’t have much time to think about it, though, as Red Wine pushed him again so he would fall on the bed. He straddled him before bringing their lips together again.   
“You’re a crass, and dense brat,” Red Wine hissed in between their clacking of teeth. “And so _hot_.”

Steak was going to make a comment about how Red Wine just called him hot, but when the vampire pulled off his shirt in one fluid movement and Steak felt his skin, he knew Red Wine meant that he was hot, _literally _. Both men shivered from the contact for different reasons, and Steak felt that his clothes were suddenly too cumbersome.__

__It wouldn’t be Steak’s first time being intimate with someone, and he guessed it wasn’t Red Wine’s first time either, but where all those other times were gentle and full of slow mounting pleasure, just kissing Red Wine made a frenzy of emotions explode within Steak’s ribs. Every time their lips met was a battle, and the heated exchange contented him, as he felt the coil that he never knew was gradually building, to unwind. With Red Wine kissing him, there was no mistake that what he said earlier was true, and at the moment, Steak couldn’t care less about the details._ _

__The buckle that had been unfastened earlier loosened his collar, and Red Wine trailed his kisses lower, teasing the sensitive skin of Steak’s neck before biting him. Steak couldn’t suppress the moan that escaped him when he felt the older man’s teeth pierce his skin. It wasn’t like the other times where there was pain, and there was pure, unfiltered pleasure._ _

__“Fuck,” Steak hissed, grabbing Red Wine to push him off, but instead, he drew him closer so that their chests were pressed flush against each other. Red Wine let out a noise of approval, whether it was a hum or a moan, Steak didn’t know, but his breath hitched all the same, back arching into Red Wine’s touch. With his hands, the vampire began toying with his skin, scratching and tugging on spots where he might guess Steak was sensitive. He struggled against the taller man, squirming underneath him, not because of his hands, but because of the pleasurable feeling from being fed off of. Steak could feel himself get hard, and his hips bucked involuntarily._ _

__Red Wine pulled off from his neck, and licked the blood from his lips. Steak didn’t think anyone could look that hot drinking blood, but here they were._ _

__“I know you get this way when I feed from you,” Red Wine said, a bit breathless himself as he nosed at the junction of Steak’s neck and jaw. “You always do so well holding back, but you don’t have to anymore.”_ _

__When Red Wine began palming him through his pants, Steak had to stifle another moan deep in his throat. It had been a couple of lifetimes since he’d had any sexual relations with anyone, and though he wasn’t unfamiliar with getting himself off, having Red Wine tough him where he needed it most was heavenly._ _

__“And I know you want me to,” Red Wine continued, “I can taste your desire in your blood.”_ _

__Red Wine’s mouth was soon back on the wounds his teeth made earlier, and having the vampire drink from him while touching him was nearly too much. Steak panted, struggling to keep back his moans and thrashed under Red Wine, not knowing if he wanted him to stop or do more. With irritation, Red Wine grabbed one of Steak’s horns, close to where it met his skull, and the touch sent him over the edge._ _

__His back bowed as he came, voice bordering on a wet scream. Hips stuttering as his orgasm crashed over him, the waves of pleasure leaving him helpless and vulnerable to Red Wine’s touch._ _

__“Already?” the vampire inquired, stopping his hand from its ministrations. “You must have been pent up.”_ _

__Steak felt a rush of embarrassment from letting himself get so lost in Red Wine’s touch, and he weakly pushed against the other Food Soul, realizing that his strength had been drastically weakened from his recent orgasm and also the blood Red Wine took. His head was swimming from pleasure, but also general dizziness and he struggled weakly against the other._ _

__“Oh my, I seem to have taken too much,” he said, putting some distance between him and his debauched partner. Steak groaned in response, avoiding looking at the other as he sat up on his elbows. It was about as far as he could get. “I will let you sleep here, I suppose, since you may not be up to moving around quite yet.”_ _

__Staying put sounded like the perfect solution, though Steak wondered what the consequences might be of staying in Red Wine’s room._ _

__"Hell no," he panted, his argument weak. Red Wine put some much needed distance between them, fixing a few hairs that had come out of his ponytail. It was obvious their feeding session left him aroused as well, and Steak was at least contented to know he wasn't the only one feeling something._ _

__"There's no way you can walk to your room in your condition," the vampire said, wiping the remnants of blood from his lips. "Besides, I don't know if I'd want to walk around at night looking the way you do right now." Steak could feel the little energy that he did have left wane, and just like his mind brewed over how he felt about Red Wine, it was just as undecided on how he felt about staying in Red Wine's room._ _

__"Looking the way I do?" he grunted, flopping back to lay across the bed._ _

__Red Wine smirked at him, and that cocky look made Steak want to fight him and kiss him. It was infuriating. "I'd say you look quite...delicious."_ _

__Steak visibly gagged and weakly kicked his leg out, hitting the other with it. Finding the behavior amusing, Red Wine just laughed lightly before setting Steak up to sleep on his bed. He didn't have any more strength to argue, so Steak watched as the other pulled out a futon from the small closet, unrolling it and setting up a space for himself on the floor. He was such a gentleman about the sleeping arrangements that Steak found it kind of gross; however, he didn't get much time to think about it as he fell asleep before the lights were even turned off._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not anywhere close to where these two are going to be, but at least they have SOMETHING, right? 
> 
> Like always, kudos and comments are much appreciated! Come talk to me in the game, and feel free to add me!
> 
> EDIT: Once again, sorry for the huge flub in this chapter! Please continue to let me know if you see any errors! I try to give the chapters at least a once over before I post, but I don't always catch everything!! I will try to be more diligent in the future!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you for all the comments and kudos you guys leave on this fic! It really brightens my day to see that other people are enjoying this work! And for those of you who have come and talked to me on Food Fantasy, I'm doubly grateful!!!!
> 
> Anyways! Here's the latest chapter! It contains some spoilers for the game, though. 
> 
> Since I incorporated a lot of the game lore and canon events into this chapter, it'll be a really hard read to avoid spoilers if you haven't got there yet, so if you haven't cleared most of Light Kingdom/moved to Nevras, then this chapter will contain some lore spoilers and you might wanna hold off. I'd figure I'd at least give a warning so you guys could make your own choices!

Steak never considered himself an observant person, but there were just some things he started to pick up on about Red Wine now that they were spending even _more_ time together. The first thing he noticed, was that while Red Wine came off as arrogant and uppity, he wasn't actually like that. Steak didn’t know if it was from fear, respect, or what, but Red Wine didn’t talk to Gingerbread with the cocky attitude he usually used on others, which was surprising considering Master Attendant wasn’t spared from that ugly side of his personality. The red head actually realized that Red Wine could be quite the gentleman at heart, and when it was just their team or Steak, the vampire could even be labeled as personable. 

But maybe that was Steak’s bias. 

After the episode in Red Wine’s room, his feedings had become more spaced out and regular, but now being fed from was always a sexually charged experience. Steak purposefully avoided anything emotionally intimate, like kissing, and just wrote their experiences off as mutually beneficial. Red Wine got his blood, and Steak would usually get an orgasm. 

Of course, there was still an expectant and heavy atmosphere between them. Steak couldn’t forget that Red Wine specifically said he had feelings for him, and he guessed that the sunken feeling in his chest meant he might have some feelings too. But it was hard. This wasn’t some romance where everything would end up perfectly and they could live happily ever after. They were Food Souls, and their job was to fight Fallen Angels and help their Master Attendant. Steak was no stranger to watching his allies die on the battlefield. Even if Food Souls could be resummoned, there was never a guarantee, and it wasn’t rare for Food Souls to lose some or most of their memories in the in-between. The feelings of guilt and anguish were the reason Steak cut himself off from the others. His only job was to serve his Master Attendant, and he could do his job best if there were no lingering or complicated feelings. 

So even if he did feel something for Red Wine that went beyond general camaraderie or physical attraction, he couldn’t allow himself to act on it. Feelings got in the way and made people weak. 

“It’s that look again. Steak, don’t hurt yourself trying to think, I can tell you whatever answer you need to know,” Red Wine said haughtily, breaking the red head from his thoughts. 

Steak’s nostrils flared and he huffed. 

“Knock it off,” Gingerbread warned, giving both boys a look. Black Tea, who’d looked more pressed than usual, gave a hint of a smile which she hid behind her hand. 

“I’m surprised that after so much time of working together, you guys can still be at each other’s necks!” Ichi said, a wide grin on his face. 

“ _Oh you don’t even know._ ” Steak thought a bit wryly. 

Today was one of the few times they were with their Master Attendant and Ichi. Rice accompanied them as well, as she followed their Master Attendant along everywhere. Recently, they’d been making some more trips with their Master Attendant, usually at Olivia’s request, and they’d even traveled so far as the Light Kingdom. There seemed to be great excitement at their Master Attendant’s restaurant becoming a center for the Guild, and even though they came all this way to try to work out the details, their Master Attendant and her bleeding heart seemingly jumped at the opportunity to help anyone in need. Steak thought it was noble, if not a bit naïve. 

After some traveling down the designated road, they came to a spot that seemed like it had seen battle, and they immediately paused to investigate. The clues lead them to discover the corpses of the very humans and Food Souls they’d been sent to find, along with two others. 

Boston Lobster, a Food Soul that Steak had met only once in a previous life was speaking lowly to a mysterious man in black robes. The sight immediately put their Master Attendant and Ichi on alert, although Steak had never seen them before in this life. From the corner of his eye, he saw Black Tea drawing her guns. He didn’t catch the conversation between the two figures, but when Ichi interrupted, everything went to hell. 

As they prepared for battle, Boston Lobster’s large claw went to the neck of his own Master Attendant. It was as if everyone froze as their team watched with horror as Boston Lobster killed the human. Rice screamed and Steak felt his own stomach turn in revulsion. How could a Food Soul do that to their own Master Attendant?

“How could you do such a thing?! We Food Souls are supposed to work _with_ humans!” Rice screamed, their own Master Attendant having to hold back her small body.

“Oh? So you don’t know? You think we should work side-by-side with humans, but they’ve made a way to create Fallen Angels! See for yourself!” the white-haired man cackled, pulling out a syringe from the mutilated corpse that was his Master Attendant, until recently. 

He injected the syringe into the Food Soul he was standing beside, and the Food Soul began rapidly changing into a Fallen Angel, hell-bent on attacking them. 

Steak and Black Tea were the first to react from the shock, a hit bouncing from one of Steak’s swords where he jumped in front of Gingerbread. Black Tea took a frenzied shot at the Fallen Angel, narrowly missing it’s head. 

“Pull yourselves together!” Steak shouted as he readied for another attack. 

Debris that the Fallen Angel pulled up and threw ended up sliced in half before Steak had the time to react to it. 

“Don’t talk down to me, you dolt!” Red Wine called, landing beside Steak and Gingerbread after cutting down the large tree branch. After the brief moment of confusion, they managed to regroup into a regular formation, with Gingerbread and Steak guarding Milk and Black Tea. With the assured protection and comfortable distance, Black Tea’s shots became more accurate, and she fired, hitting the arms of the Fallen Angel with a calm and practiced ease. 

A shout went out across the forest as it was attacked, and the Fallen Angel threw up a barrier to block from all attacks as it healed itself. Steak clicked his tongue in irritation, and right as he saw the barrier weakening, he rushed forward, slashing at the Fallen Angel. Evading his attacks was normally a bit easier, since Steak was powerful, but slow, but this Fallen Angel seemed weaker than their regular fare, and it took a heavy beating from Steak’s cuts. 

“Red!” Gingerbread called out, rushing forward with her giant shield and pinning the Fallen Angel to a nearby tree. 

Red Wine seemingly appeared from nowhere by using his unparalleled speed, and Steak could tell from his own experiences that magic was flowing through him and enhancing his skills. It was something that the vampire got when resonating in battle from Gingerbread, and for a split second, he seemed to float in the air. 

“You are so lucky, you will die by my blade,” he said menacingly before stabbing both of his swords through the Fallen Angel’s neck, effectively decapitating it.

When the Fallen Angel’s head rolled on the forest floor, they all knew the battle was over, and with little to no wounds, Steak wondered if this was really the end. 

“Where’s Boston Lobster?!”

He looked around but couldn’t see the other Food Soul in sight. 

“Damn,” Gingerbread grumbled, “he must’ve disappeared during the fight.”

As the immediate threat was gone, they were all left with the weight of information they now had. 

“Why? Why must it be this way?!” Rice cried. While Steak found the news sobering, he definitely didn’t feel it was a situation to cry about. “Are you saying we are the same blood as the Fallens?”

Master Attendant tried to console Rice, and Steak took the moment to examine their surroundings. If Fallen Angels could be created from Food Souls, then having a team of them could actually become quite dangerous for a human. The grim looks on the other Food Soul’s faces told Steak that they were all thinking the same thing. To be turned into a Fallen Angel would be losing all identity and life they had gathered as Food Souls, and it would spell a permanent death for them. 

For once since he was created, Steak sensed his own mortality, and it nearly crushed him. 

“Hey! Take a look at this!”

Ichi’s voice rang out, and he held up the syringe Boston Lobster had used to inject the Food Soul with. Steak wasn’t particularly curious, knowing he’d understand the details if it was important, and that he'd be told but Milk and Black Tea walked with their Master Attendant to inspect it.

“This is what Boston Lobster used just now. Which means this liquid has something to do with the Food Souls turning into Fallen Angels?” Rice said as she took a look at the syringe for herself. Ichi turned it in his hands. Seeing writing, he read the words out loud.

“Created by Nevras Academy.”

Red Wine flinched. Black Tea and Milk, who were closer to their Master Attendant and Ichi, missed the reaction completely, but Steak saw it. His red eyes flickered to Gingerbread, thinking she might of seen it too, but she was busy wiping the blood of the Fallen Angel from her shield with one of her hair ribbons.

“Well, that just means we’ll need to be making a trip to the Academy,” Ichi proclaimed, handing their Master Attendant the syringe. 

Red Wine had effectively schooled his features, but the topic of the Academy had him on edge. Steak couldn’t describe how he knew, but it felt as if the vampire was trying too hard to seem unaffected. Steak knew talking about the Academy made Red Wine as close to uncomfortable as someone could get, and from the information he’d gleaned from one of their first true talks from months ago, it was because Red Wine’s soul had been tampered with. 

It was common knowledge that the Food Souls were created by the Academy’s research, and the crystals that were used to form contracts between humans and Food Souls were also created by the Academy; however, Red Wine seemed to have a more complex backstory than that. Steak had never cared about it before, but now that going to the Academy was apparently their next stop, it was pushed to the forefront of the red head’s minds. 

He let out an exasperated sigh. Currently, Steak found there were too many thoughts that bothered him, and not nearly enough answers to all the questions those thoughts raised. 

“We’ll see if there’s anything Olivia knows or can help us with,” their Master Attendant said, “but until then, let’s take this time to rest and regroup.”

It had only been a few days since they originally left to search for the lost merchants and Food Souls, and the way back seemed heavy with a somber air. Even Ichi, who was normally boisterous and talkative, seemed steeped in thoughts, and any attempts to brighten the mood were weak or useless. Normally, Steak found his incessant talking annoying, preferring silence as opposed to forced conversation, but now he really wished someone would do something to take his mind off the new information. 

Setting up camp that night was tense and awkward. Normally, when the Food Souls went by themselves on campaign, they could easily work out any issues. But with Master Attendant, Ichi, and Rice with them, Steak knew his comrades felt a small divide between themselves and the humans with them. 

“Oi.”

Steak, who was unrolling his bedroll, turned to the voice he’d easily recognized as Gingerbread’s. Despite the fact that Steak didn’t really talk with anyone, he felt closest to the blonde. He couldn’t currently rank his relationship with Red Wine, considering the red head didn’t even know if he liked him at all or not. While he respected Black Tea, she was reserved. She spoke when spoken to and was always polite, but Steak didn’t get the impression that she enjoyed his presence any more than anyone else’s. Gingerbread, however, was different. She was a little talkative, and at times seemed a bit twisted. Her strength was unarguably superior to his own, but they had an unspoken pact as the guardians of their team. It was strange though that she was talking to him, normally choosing to talk with Red Wine, considering he’d give her an actual conversation. 

“What’s up with sourpuss over there?” she whispered, pointing to where Red Wine was brooding. While Steak knew the situation was a bit dire, he almost felt himself give a little chuckle at her comment. 

Almost. 

Steak shrugged, finishing setting up his bedroll. 

“What do you mean, ‘ugh’?” she asked, giving a poor and exaggerated imitation of his shrug. “Aren’t you two shacking up? Shouldn’t you be more concerned?”

Steak would never in his life put his hands on a woman without her permission, but he found one hand clapped over the shorter girl’s mouth. His fires had suddenly intensified at his surprise, and he worked to reel them back in. She didn’t speak too loudly, but Milk, who was sitting the closest to them, turned in reaction to their conversation. Golden eyes glared daggers at him, and Steak removed his hands quickly. 

“Sorry, I just...” he said, feeling the licks of panic and embarrassment. “Would you mind taking this conversation somewhere more private?” he asked, pointing towards the forest. Gingerbread pursed her lips. 

“Fine,” she responded, turning and walking towards the direction where Steak pointed. When they got far enough from the camp where Steak wasn’t worried they’d be heard, he finally cleared his throat.

“Who said Red Wine and I were ‘shacking up’?” Steak asked. 

Gingerbread picked in her ears, seemingly bored with the conversation despite starting it back at the camp. “Uh, no one? Though you kind of just told me yourself by that reaction.”

Steak resisted the urge to groan. The only person he’d actually tried to talk to about Red Wine issues was Black Tea, but even then he hadn’t explained the whole thing to her. He wasn’t interested in sharing all of his business with others, especially business he didn’t know how to handle just yet. 

“But what would make you ask that?” Steak pressed. 

“I’m not stupid. I’ve known something’s been going on with you guys for a while now. You guys still fight but it’s not nearly as hate-filled as before, and when I talk to Red, he’s always complaining about you.”

Steak couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that tidbit of information. Even though Steak was doing him a favor by being his personal blood bag, he still had to complain?

“Also,” Gingerbread started, “normally we go hunting together so he can eat, but he hasn’t wanted to come with me at all recently, and when he does, he never feeds off the animals. I was about to report it to Master Attendant, but Milk stopped me. She told me that there was some situation and that you were taking care of it.”

Steak nodded. He was grateful that Milk neutralized the situation without revealing his personal information. 

“He feeds from me,” Steak admitted. It was his first time admitting it without adding superfluous information, and just saying it felt like a bit of weight lifted from him. 

“Kinky,” Gingerbread replied flatly, and Steak felt his face get hotter, flames growing a bit with his embarrassment. She barked out a laugh. 

“It doesn't really matter what’s going on. Red looks better than he did a few months ago, and that’s all I really care about,” she said, patting his shoulder. Her jovial attitude suddenly turned serious and her grip tightened. 

“But if you do anything to seriously hurt him, or to jeopardize this team, I won’t hesitate to cut you down.”

Fear shot through him and Steak nodded, knowing that her words were no empty threat. The smile was instantaneously back on her face and she let her hand slip. 

“Good talking with you Steak! We should do this again sometime,” she called before heading back to the campsite. He followed not too long afterwards, and decided to take the first watch for the night. While the others slept, he thought back to his conversation with Gingerbread and realized that everyone on his team knew that there was at least something happening between him and Red Wine. Normally, he’d be a bit uncomfortable with having his private life so aired out, but whether it was the knowledge of knowing he, too, could die forever that made him uneasy, or his shifting feelings, Steak thought it might not be too bad to lean into the fledgling relationships he had with his teammates. He even considered maybe depending on them in a way that wasn’t exclusive to fighting. He spent all of his time with them anyways, and as a Food Soul he previously thought that changing himself didn’t matter. However, knowing that the possibility existed for him to Fall, and be killed by another Food Soul lit a desire in him to seize the moment. 

It was never too late for change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could it be???? A legitimate plot is beginning to form??? 
> 
> I swore this was only supposed to be a one-shot but then I got so excited and I kept writing more and more and now I can never stop. 
> 
> There wasn't a lot of Red Wine in this chapter, but I was excited to put in some more Gingerbread! I definitely feel like out of all of them, she's been the most ignored!
> 
> I'm trying to write this as open-ended as possible, but since I'm following the game, a lot of the characters and dynamics are steering towards my own playing experience and teams. Since I'm at the point now where I'm creating new content for this, if there's any Food Souls you'd like to see here, or some different teams, I'm definitely open to suggestions! 
> 
> Also!!! Master Attendant for this fic needs a name! I know it's kinda cheesy but if you want to message me on Food Fantasy (or by leaving a comment here) on what Master Attendant's name should be, I can put them into a randomizer to select! Hopefully that'll help Master Attendant feel a little more personal!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy! As always, please let me know if there are any errors!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so thankful to everyone I've met who loves and supports this fanfiction! It really gives me the motivation to keep writing!!!
> 
> There's probably 5 chapters left after this one before this story is finished. At least that's my estimate, it may change. Especially considering this was originally supposed to be a one-shot.
> 
> As far as Master Attendant's names, there's been a couple of suggestions! I will probably choose one after I post the next chapter, so there's still some time to send me suggestions!!

“I’m taking you off the main team.”

The news had come as a shock, and Steak felt everything he’d worked for suddenly got ripped away. He ground his teeth, not wanting to directly oppose his Master Attendant, but not understanding why the sudden decision had been made.

“Has my performance been sub par?” Steak asked, keeping both his voice and flames level.

“I have noticed you’ve been a little more distracted lately. I figured you might need a break after so many heavy campaigns and I wanted to take this opportunity to try out some new people,” she said. It was obvious her words were a cheap excuse, geared towards sparing his feelings, and while Steak appreciated the sentiment, he would much rather have a direct answer, even though he knew he wouldn’t get one. He held back an irritated sigh, swallowing his pride.

“Thank you for this opportunity,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “If there’s anything you may need in the future, do not hesitate to ask me.”

Master Attendant’s face lit up at Steak’s answer, and the Food Soul wondered if she had been worried about his reaction. Fighting on the front lines in the main campaigns was what suited him best, and what he’d been working towards since he was summoned, but if their Master Attendant wanted him to do something else, he wouldn’t argue.

“Thank you Steak!”

However, having not been assigned to a new team meant he suddenly had more free time than he knew what to do with. Steak wondered if there were any others from his team who had been told they were taking a break, and so after taking a day to rest, he set out to find the other Food Souls. He wouldn’t be as lonely if there were others from his team, and he thought that maybe he could start working on coming across as more friendly and maybe bonding with them.

Steak had no luck catching anyone at breakfast, and as he walked outside, he saw Master Attendant, Ichi, and Olivia, all gathered with the team that was set to leave. 

Six Food Souls were at the entrance to the restaurant. Black Tea, Milk, and Gingerbread were all geared up and ready to leave, along with Yuxiang and a man Steak had never seen before. He sat at one of the tables and lazily smoked his pipe. Maybe Steak knew his name, but having never seen him before, the unfamiliar man left him with a disconcerted feeling. Red Wine was with them, but he seemed dressed down and not prepared to go on a journey at all.

“This is gonna be weird without you guys,” Gingerbread said honestly when Steak decided to walk forward and see them off. Red Wine gave him a glance before pulling a handkerchief from one of his pockets and offering it to Gingerbread.

“Take this. You can use it to wipe down your shield in lieu of your ribbons,” he said, a small smile on his face. Gingerbread grinned, her fang glistening as she took the handkerchief and threw her arms around the taller man.

“Aw!! I’m really gonna miss you, Red!” she pouted. Red Wine let out an awkward and strained laugh before patting her blonde hair. The episode was definitely more sentimental than anything Steak was comfortable with, and standing there left him feeling a bit awkward.

“Did you come to see us off?”

Milk’s gentle voice pulled Steak’s attention away from Gingerbread and Red Wine, and he nodded to her. 

“Have a safe trip,” he said brusquely, avoiding eye contact and crossing his arms. A smile spread across the healer’s normally blank face at his words.

“I’ll make sure they come back safely,” she said, tucking some pale hair behind her ear. Steak thought her smile looked very nice, and his flames flickered a bit at the sight of it. Black Tea seemed to look a little more contended than normal, her stoic expression evened out. 

“You guys?” Master Attendant called, “it’s time to leave.”

Steak and Red Wine stepped outside of the restaurant to watch the retreating backs of their teammates until they couldn’t be seen anymore. Everyone around them seemed hurried, but having nothing to really do for the rest of the day, it wasn’t as if either party felt pressured to do anything.

“Do you have a moment?” Red Wine asked, not moving his gaze from the horizon in the distance. Steak’s eyes flickered to the other Food Soul and he shrugged, crossing his arms.

“I’ve got nothing to do,” he responded. Without saying anything else, Red Wine turned and began walking away. Steak knew he was meant to follow the older Food Soul, but he huffed at the idea that he’d come obediently. Red Wine could’ve at least had the courtesy to ask him to follow. In silence, the two walked the familiar path to Red Wine’s room, and when they entered, the vampire locked the door behind them.

The fact they were here meant Red Wine likely wanted to feed. Steak knew the drill, and he shed his outer coat, leaving it draped across the desk chair as he headed to the bed.   
Red Wine had already been more casual than normal, but he removed his coat as well, setting it on top of Steak’s.

“Steak?” Red Wine mused as he walked over to the red head. He straddled Steak’s lap, and while it wasn’t a new position for them, it was certainly one Steak tried to avoid. It left Steak feeling awkward as he didn’t know where to put his hands, refusing to set them on Red Wine’s hips. He narrowed his eyes at the vampire. 

“What do you want?” Steak asked, suspicious of the other Food Soul. 

“I was thinking that we might do something different today.”

Steak didn’t like different, and he pushed against Red Wine, forcing one of the vampire’s feet to the ground. The older Food Soul only smirked, pushing against Steak harshly until he fell against the bed. Steak really hated being caught in this position, and he growled at the other. 

“Calm down, I think you’ll like what I have in mind,” Red Wine responded, unfastening Steak’s top, an action that was a little more familiar, although the entire situation was setting Steak on edge, so he grabbed Red Wine’s wrists and struggled to pull him off. 

“Get off of me, you blood pervert,” Steak grumbled, easily pulling Red Wine’s hands away from him. 

“Oh wow, did you think of that one yourself? Though it does lack creativity, I’m actually quite proud of you,” Red Wine teased. Steak’s face flushed in embarrassment, and if he hadn’t drawn in his flames, he was sure his flames would protest him being made fun of. 

“Shut up!”

Red Wine sat himself again on Steak’s lap, and the contact made the red head gasp. 

“Be a good boy, Steak, and I’ll make sure to reward you handsomely,” the vampire purred, running his hand through the mop of Steak’s hair to grab one of his horns. Steak gasped, arching his back slightly. He knew Red Wine had been catching on to the fact his horns were sensitive, less so towards the tips, but still enough to elicit a reaction. 

“Get….off,” Steak snarled through his gritted teeth, the heat under his skin rising and his breath picking up. Red Wine slowly rolled his hips in Steak’s lap. 

“Gladly.”

With the hand that wasn’t holding Steak’s horn, Red Wine lightly brushed against the red head’s exposed neck. The bites from a while ago were healing up, and there was only some yellow bruising on the most recent ones. Red Wine pressed his thumb against the bruises, and watched as Steak squirmed under him. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but how are you healing these up so quickly? I’ve never seen anyone recover from my bites in such a short time.”

Steak could hear the hint of irritation in his words, and wondered if Red Wine actually liked leaving him looking like a mutilated corpse. He didn’t trust his voice to bite out a retort, already feeling his bottom half reacting to the Food Soul on top of him. When he didn’t get a response, Red Wine leaned down and scraped against his neck with his teeth. The action sent a jolt of pleasure through Steak, and his own hips involuntarily jerked, giving him some much needed friction. 

“It tastes like you use a salve, but I’ve never known one to be this potent,” he mumbled, cool lips moving against Steak’s flushed skin. 

It wasn’t as if Steak was unused to these feelings. Feedings would normally end up with his orgasm, but even under regular conditions, Steak never went down without a fight. This situation was different, though, and Steak wasn’t sure if he wanted to attempt to struggle. He felt pulled to the vampire, and bit back a pleasured whimper that threatened to seep from between his lips. 

“Maybe Milk made it for you?” Red Wine guessed after not receiving an answer, and when Steak neither confirmed nor denied it, he rubbed the junction of where his horn met his scalp. “Answer me.”

“Ngh, yes,” he bit out, feeling his dick harden under Red Wine’s ministrations. The vampire hummed, seemingly pleased by the reaction he pulled from Steak, and he rubbed his thumb across the same spot. A weak moan tumbled from Steak’s mouth and he glared at Red Wine. 

“That’s a nice face.”

Steak bucked his hips, fully intending on getting Red Wine off of him, but the vampire merely leaned into his hips, holding his head down from his grip on his horn. He used that moment to surge forward, using his fangs to pierce deep into Steak’s neck. The younger Food Soul couldn’t help but moan deeply at the now familiar and pleasurable sensation, and his struggling weakened. Capitalizing on the brief pause in resistance Red Wine trailed his hands lower, palming his erection. This was more familiar, and Steak reluctantly let himself go along with Red Wine’s lead. 

He wondered, if they had met under different circumstances all those years ago, would Steak be more receptive to things like this? His head was swimming, the pleasure of the moment creating a fuzz over all his thoughts, but wondering whether or not it was fate that he had ended up with Red Wine this way was something he never thought he’d be considering. 

Red Wine paused in his feeding, licking his lips before bringing them to Steak’s giving the other Food Soul a bloody and sloppy kiss. The fire that Steak suppressed threatened to burn past his hold. While he tried to avoid it, kissing Red Wine made him feel good, even if it was currently disgusting. He didn’t like the taste of his own blood and pressed his lips to a hard line, turning his head to avoid kissing the vampire. 

“I fucking, haa- _hate_ it when you do that,” Steak panted, and Red Wine pulled his head to face him, kissing his lips anyways and forcing them open with his prying tongue. The feeling of Red Wine’s tongue against his own, his hand on his horn, and one touching his clothed erection made Steak’s dick twitch under Red Wine’s hand. The older Food Soul pulled away from Steak’s lips, breathing a bit harder, and fumbling slightly, he fished Steak’s dick from his pants, feeling for the first time the hot and hard flesh against his palms. 

“Fuck-!” Steak cursed, his body singing under Red Wine’s touch as his hips rolled, pushing his dick further in Red Wine’s hand. As always, the vampire’s skin was a bit cool, and it felt strange against his hard member. Red Wine wasted no time in stroking him, still holding him down by the horn with his other hand. A string of jumbled curses spilled from Steak’s mouth as he felt himself nearing his edge. 

“Red, wait, stop-“ he cursed as Red Wine’s strokes became faster. His orgasm hit him unexpectedly, and he bit his lip as he came, quelling any embarrassing noises he’d make under Red Wine’s touch. When he was milked dry, the vampire brought his dripping hand to his mouth, licking his fingers. He pulled a face at the bitter taste of Steak’s cum before slipping out of Steak’s lap. 

“We only did this last week, I’m surprised there’s so much,” Red Wine hummed, using a handkerchief to wipe his hand clean. 

“Fuck you,” Steak panted weakly, feeling absolutely boneless. 

“Well,” the vampire mused with the hint of a smile in his voice, “that was the point.”

Steak didn’t currently have the mental functions to think on Red Wine’s words, but when his pants were pulled further down his legs, he sat up in shock. 

When he looked down, he could see Red Wine’s black hair between his legs, and his red eyes looks extremely unamused. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked, feeling his heart pick up again. He could guess though what Red Wine was planning on doing, and the excitement made his hypersensitive dick twitch. 

“I’m doing you a favor. So the least you can do is sit back and enjoy it,” he scoffed, taking Steak’s member into one of his hands and stroking it again. Due to his recent orgasm, Steak squirmed under his touch, extremely sensitive. He clutched at Red Wine’s bed sheets, fisting them between his hands at the raven-haired male’s touch. He was merciful, and gave Steak a moment to gather his bearings before enveloping the red head’s dick in the warm cavern of his mouth. Steak could’ve come again right then, but he had barely gotten fully hard. 

His thoughts were muddled and unclear, a chorus of “fuck yes”, “oh god, like that”, and other expletives filling his mind and escaping past his lips at the onslaught of pleasure. Steak never knew why he’d resist this man, even though he could be the most stuffy and insufferable prick he’d ever had the displeasure of meeting. The blood that rushed south and fueled his erection must have edged Red Wine on, because as Steak got harder, Red Wine got sloppier, and the red head felt his teeth brush dangerously against the tip of his dick. 

Steak so desperately wanted to grab a fistful of Red Wine’s hair, and fuck himself on his mouth, maybe that would shut the older Food Soul up for a while, and before he could fully realize that fantasy, Red Wine pulled off of him, face flushed and panting. Steak let himself lean up on his elbows, watching Red Wine as he stepped out of his pants and straddled Steak’s waist again. 

“What are you doing?” Steak asked breathlessly, narrowing his eyes in suspicion to the vampire. Red Wine smirked and pressed his lips against Steak’s again. 

“I think it’s about time I took some pleasure for myself,” Red Wine responded, reaching behind him to take Steak’s dick in his hand. 

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Steak hissed, eyes widening as he realized what Red Wine planned on doing. Like before, Red Wine subdued the redhead with a hand on his horn, yanking his head back and exposing the bruised column of his neck. Slowly, he sank himself down on Steak’s throbbing member, his teeth sinking into another spot on his neck and drawing blood. The moan that was pulled from Steak’s mouth was earth-shattering, and he forced his hips up, bullying his way into Red Wine’s tight entrance. 

“F-fuck you,” Steak repeated, his eyes screwed shut against the unbelievable magnitude of pleasure he was experiencing. Warm blood trickled down his neck, and when Steak was fully sheathed inside Red Wine, the vampire licked up the rivulets of red. Steak’s skin twitched under his tongue, and for a brief moment, there was silence, only filled with their desperate breathing, though it was cut short when Red Wine lifted himself with his thighs and dropped himself on Steak’s dick. 

Both Food Souls moaned in unison, and Steak’s hands went to Red Wine’s thinner hips, holding him as he fucked his length inside of him. The vampire’s strong legs lifted and dropped him easily, using gravity to his advantage as Steak filled him again and again. 

There wasn’t any time or space for any words other than gasped curses or Red Wine’s insistent directions of _harder, faster, Steak, fuck yes _. As he neared his own orgasm, Red Wine grabbed at both Steak’s horns, using them as an anchor as the other abused the sensitive spot inside him. Strands of black hair were coming loose from his tie, and his ponytail was draped across his shoulder. His own skin felt like it was burning, as if Steak’s warm fire had somehow entered his veins and was burning up everything Red Wine knew to be reality.__

__At the insistent grabbing of his horns, Steak let out a throaty moan and he felt another orgasm being pulled from him, painting the inside of Red Wine’s walls with his seed._ _

__“Ugh, so quick again,” Red Wine complained, fucking himself faster on Steak’s dick, as the latter rode out his orgasm. The sounds of their coupling was loud, and Red Wine had no doubt that his neighbors could hear them. Steak let out a pitiful whine as the last of his cum filled Red Wine, but the vampire continued with his brutal pace, chasing his own orgasm. He bit down again on Steak’s neck, leaving yet another set of teeth mark, and the first splash of blood against his tongue sent him toppling over the edge, his own release shooting across Steak’s chest in thick, white streaks, making a mess of the other Food Soul._ _

__The two took a moment to catch their breath, Red Wine’s arms trembling as he released Steak’s horns. Neither of them said anything, and Red Wine pulled himself off of Steak, collapsing beside him on the bed._ _

__“You made a mess,” Steak noted, once his breath and wits returned to him._ _

__Red Wine rolled his eyes and groaned._ _

__“Yes, and I always clean up after your messes, so I’d appreciate if you would refrain from making such obvious comments, unless you wished to clean up yourself.”_ _

__Steak didn’t feel like giving Red Wine the satisfaction, and he _definitely_ didn’t feel like getting up, so he stayed silent where he was until Red Wine was ready to get up and clean up after them. _ _

__Later, after the sun had fallen, the two of them were still resting, partially naked, in Red Wine’s bed. Steak resigned himself to staying the night in Red Wine’s room, and Red Wine, either out of laziness or because of their activities, didn’t bother to pull out his futon._ _

__“So,” Steak started, breaking the silence they’d had for a few hours. “Are you going to explain what that was all about?”_ _

__“Must you always fill a comfortable silence with your chatter?” he asked, though like it normally was when it was just the two of them, his word lacked the bite they normally had. Steak waited on the vampire to answer the question he posed._ _

__“I already told you that I had a particular fondness for you. And it seemed unfair that you were the only one that got off,” he explained. Steak felt embarrassment seize him, but he made no comment._ _

__Red Wine sat up. He had taken his hair from his ponytail, and it fell across his shoulders in a way that made him look like he belonged in a painting somewhere in a museum. One of his cold hands felt the bites and bruises along Steak’s neck. His touch was light, and intimate in a way that caused the red head’s breath to hitch._ _

__“Are you upset with the events that transpired?” Red Wine asked, his voice nearly as delicate as his touch, and Steak couldn’t bear to lie and say he hated it. His pride, however, wouldn’t let him say yes, so he simply huffed, turning his head away in the hopes his feelings wouldn’t show on his face. Red Wine seemed to understand his answer though. “I thought I should maybe apologize, but no harm, no foul.”_ _

__Steak didn’t think his comment warranted a response, but he could tell the vampire had more to say._ _

__“Though there is something else I need to apologize for, I suppose,” he sighed, and Steak turned to face him._ _

__“I’m the reason we were pulled from the main team.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY. I always feel like my smut is mediocre at best, but we've made it fam. 
> 
> As always, please let me know if you see any errors!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I am posting another chapter at 2 am because I have no self-control. This chapter gets a little in-depth about Red Wine's backstory and how he became a vampire! I tried to incorporate elements from his actual canon backstory, and tried to make it fit, so I hope it's convincing!
> 
> I'll link the fan-translation of Red WIne's backstory at the bottom, so that if you haven't read it, you can do that! If you can, make sure to thank the translator! They did such a wonderful job!
> 
> It should go without saying but this chapter also contains some spoilers for Red Wine's backstory, so if you'd want to scroll to the end and read that link before this chapter in order to avoid being spoiled, I think you'd be in the best shape!
> 
> I will probably take a couple days break from releasing chapters. My boyfriend leaves in a few days and I won't be able to see him for a couple of months, so I'm going to prioritize that! In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!! I will still be taking name suggestions for Master Attendant!!
> 
> Whew, that was a bit long, so anyways, hope you enjoy!!

“Explain,” Steak growled, now alert with the confession.

Red Wine avoided eye contact. 

“I told Master Attendant that it might not be smart for me to go with them to the Academy. I assume when she decided I wouldn’t be going, you were held back as well.” 

Steak shoved the vampire harshly with his foot. It was proof that their relationship was moving in the right direction compared to where he’d normally use his fists. He couldn’t understand Red Wine’s problems with the Academy. Ever since he’d known him, the other Food Soul had never needed such an accommodation, despite the fact he seemed to be the type to demand them. 

“I know you have some stuff with the Academy, but you need to spill,” Steak demanded, “you can’t keep bottling stuff up forever.”

Red Wine looked at him for a moment as if he was trying to figure the other out.

“I’m surprised you were able to say something that eloquent. Did Black Tea help you with that one?” 

The vampire received another kicked, and a light laugh escaped him.

“I was only joking,” he said, before his face fell and he looked towards his own hands. “I told you before, about how I wasn’t originally created as a vampire?” 

Steak knew that the topic was going to get serious, and he was just receptive enough from their recent activity to be attentive. He stayed silent, letting Red Wine continue on his own.

“I was first summoned by a researcher with the Academy who was experimenting with making Food Souls even more powerful than we already were. Most of them ended up dying, with the exception of myself, and a few others. My first Master Attendant….he was a horrible man, and I only became free when our contract ended with his death. I was considered a failed experiment, since I never showed any signs or changes due to his testing,” he explained. Steak could tell from his body language that speaking about it made him uncomfortable, and despite the warmth of the room and Steak’s natural heat beside him, Red Wine shivered.

“At that point in time, I had never heard of vampirism, though I learned quickly from the humans. I found it amusing, and over time, I’d learned to forget about my first Master Attendant.” Red Wine took a long pause, staring at his hands. 

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

“Sadly,” Steak responded. Red Wine turned a disappointed look towards him and Steak returned with his own questioning look. Their first impressions of each other were horrible, and being in such close proximity meant they fought all the time. For the longest time, their Master Attendants fought too, despite their engagement, and even at the end of their contracts, the two Food Souls had never learned to get along. 

“I had been slowly changing from those experiments. I became sensitive to the smell of blood, and in my foolishness I believed it was because of the influence of the humans. When I moved to drinking blood, I was mortified, and I hid it from my Master Attendant; that night with the Baroness was when I realized the true weight of my condition.” 

Steak marveled at the fact that Red Wine could remember events from so long ago. Of course, Steak remembered former Master Attendants, so he could never forget his first, which also happened to be the first time he’d met Red Wine. However, the event the vampire spoke of was lost to the depths of Steak’s memories until Red Wine said something about it, and the memory came back to Steak like the wisps of a dream in the first hour of waking. 

“At that time with that other Food Soul,” Steak started, making some connections, “you seemed to recognize him.” He remembered Red Wine’s hesitation, despite the fact his beloved Master Attendant was hurt. 

The older Food Soul nodded. “He was like me, a vampire too. He had been masterminding the entire crime and used the Baroness as a mere puppet.” There was a brief silence, and Steak took the opportunity to rid himself of all of his clothes, considering he was going to be staying overnight. Red Wine didn’t bat an eyelash at his immodesty. 

“So? What’s all this have to do with you not being able to go to the Academy?” Steak asked, wanting to get to the point.

“Right. During one of my lifetimes, one of the scientists and historians at the Academy did some extensive research, and managed to connect my first Master Attendant’s research with the incident from that Baroness’ revel. I was tracked down and that man offered my Master Attendant land, wealth, and fortune, in exchange for turning me over to him to study. I had been summoned to a farmer, and we didn’t get along, nor did I respect him, so the choice was obviously clear.”

“I was taken to the Academy and once again, I had become a subject for the humans to study. They had made extreme advances since I had been a subject before, the likes of which they will probably never reveal to the rest of us, and they put a marker on my soul, so that if I were to escape, as long as I was within the Nevras region, I could be tracked down and returned.”

As intolerable as Red Wine’s attitude was, he felt a pang of pity for him. Steak didn’t know if even he could be relegated to a test subject and experimented on, and even though he had no idea what they did to Red Wine behind the closed doors of the Academy, he didn’t suspect it was anything good, especially considering the information they’d learned from their recent encounter with Boston Lobster. The Academy was not afraid to get their hands dirty, and as long as they produced results, Steak could imagine the scientists there would use any means necessary. 

“Do not get me wrong, it is not as if I believe this marker is still functional, or if the knowledge of the research done on me has even been archived or passed down. I simply conveyed this same information to Master Attendant, and warned her of the disadvantages. She made the choice on her own,” Red Wine added, insistent in his reasoning. Steak had always wanted to believe Red Wine was weaker than him, but with this information, he had to concede that Red Wine was stronger than he could’ve ever thought. 

“Fine, fine,” Steak sighed. “I understand. I guess I can’t be upset if that’s the reason.” The rigid lines of Red Wine’s body seemed to relax at that, and he studied Steak closely. It was as if he was searching for something in the other Food Soul, and the feeling of being left bare made Steak nearly squirm under his scrutiny. 

“You are quite a strange man,” Red Wine said, seeming to settle on that statement. Steak prickled, but he realized Red Wine didn’t necessarily mean it in a negative way, and the older Food Soul was looking at him as if he was seeing him for the first time. 

“Whatever. Get some sleep,” he retorted, feeling his face burn red and his heart beat faster. Steak pulled Red Wine’s covers up to conceal him from the other, and Red Wine made an amused noise at his reaction. Steak had turned to face the wall, his horns scraping it slightly, so he only heard as Red Wine stood and moved around behind him. When he returned, Steak felt warm skin press along the length of his back; it wasn’t as warm as his, but it was far warmer than Red Wine’s normal body temperature. It left the red head feeling on edge and on high alert. 

“Are you sure that a brute like you will be able to control yourself if you sleep naked with me?” Red Wine mumbled playfully against Steak’s neck. The shock of his words and the feeling of his warm breath on his neck made Steak jolt in surprise, and in embarrassment he used his elbow and leg to fight against Red Wine, nearly pushing him off the bed.

“Sleep on the floor, you blood pervert!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the link for Red Wine's backstory: https://www.reddit.com/r/FoodFantasy/comments/964j0y/fantranslations_red_wine_backstory_feat_steak_and/
> 
> It's very good, please give it a read!! And as always, your comments and kudos feed my soul!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! Did you miss me? 
> 
> In my absence I was able to write up a couple more chapters, and after actually getting them all put into AO3, chapters should be updated pretty regularly!
> 
> As for Master Attendant's name! I got a couple of entries and after randomizing, the result is: Erika!!

As if two gears finally clicked into place, Red Wine and Steak finally found a suitable groove. They got on each other’s nerves less, and in place of fighting whenever irritated with each other, sex became a much preferred method to venting their aggression. Even when they weren’t fucking, Steak found himself actually preferring the vampire’s presence over anyone else’s, especially with Black Tea, Milk and Gingerbread still gone with their Master Attendant to Nevras. They got updates through the mail, and it seemed Master Attendant was having a hard time figuring out a way to get into the Academy. The updates made Steak feel a little uneasy, but despite the boredom from having nothing to do, Red Wine seemed relieved he didn’t have to take part in those missions. 

Steak filled his days with training, either alone, or with Hamburger when he had free time. Hawthorne Ball constantly tried to rope him into working in the restaurant, and even though he knew it would help their Master Attendant, there was nothing he’d rather do less than cook or wait tables. Having been away constantly on missions, and only coming back to the restaurant for short periods of time meant there were many Food Souls Steak hadn’t met. He honestly couldn’t believe a single Master Attendant summoned as many Food Souls as Erika had, and he felt glad he’d been summoned to her. He could tell from his intuition that she was going to do great things. 

One thing in particular sucked about not being part of the main team, and that was Milk’s absence. 

Steak rubbed his neck. He had forgotten how much the feedings could hurt afterwards, and even outside of feedings, Red Wine wasn’t very considerate of how many times he bit him in the bedroom either. The vampire always seemed to enjoy marking him, and Steak had bite marks in other places on his body as well. Steak hadn’t cared before because the salve Milk made him worked well to reduce the pain and swelling, and healed all his wounds quickly, much to Red Wine’s chagrin. But with her gone, and the recent developments to his relationship with the raven-haired Food Soul, he had run out, and was left to face the consequences. 

Before his salve had completely run out, he tried taking the excess to Miso Soup, to see if he could make more, but the monk shook his head, telling Steak the salve was made with a much higher caliber of medical expertise than he was equipped with. 

Training had become difficult, the pain making multiple areas of his body stiff, and Hamburger ended up kicking his ass more often than not. 

“Okay, seriously. This is like the 4th time this week I’ve beaten you. What’s going on?” Hamburger said with concern written on his face. 

“Nothing,” Steak responded, wiping the blood from his face as he stood. 

“Is this why you got taken off the main team? Because you suck now?”

Steak grabbed a fistful of Hamburger’s black shit, glaring hard as he lifted the younger man. 

“I do not suck,” he growled. 

Hamburger was relatively unbothered by Steak’s aggression. “I mean, I guess you don’t, but I’m smoking you almost every time we fight, and while I know I’m getting stronger, I know I’m not _that_ strong.”

Steak dropped the Food Soul and huffed. 

“I’ve just got some injuries. When Milk comes back, I’ll be fine,” he said, sheathing his swords and turning to leave the training grounds. 

“Well, you know we have a new healer? I mean, he’s been here a while so he’s not really new, but I don’t think you’ve met him yet,” Hamburger said, walking beside the red head. “He’s pretty damn good. Some say he’s even better than Milk!”

He prickled at the idea anyone could be better than Milk, and he felt the need to retort in defense of the pale haired girl’s honor, but Hamburger was already talking again. 

“He’s kinda weird, but I think he came on board right before Master Attendant went off on that mission with you guys. If you have an injury, you should see him.”

Steak didn’t respond, although, for the rest of the day the thought was in the back of his mind. The pain was obviously becoming a hindrance, and if he wanted back on the main team, he’d have to prove that he was even stronger than when Master Attendant left, which meant he couldn’t be letting himself get pummeled in training. 

Before the sun sank low, he made his way to the medical wing. There was nearly no one there, but he saw a familiar face coming out of one of the examination rooms. 

“Oh, hello Steak, did you need help?” Miso Soup asked, though he seemed crestfallen at seeing him. 

“I’m looking for the new guy.”

Miso Soup furrowed his eyebrows. “New guy? Oh, you must mean Tofu. He’s still here, I can take you to him. Right this way.”

As they walked in the opposite direction, a human woman opened the door to the examination office Miso Soup just stepped from. She took a moment to tuck some hair back into a ponytail before heading towards the exit. 

Same old Miso Soup. 

“He’s in here, No promises for the service though,” the monk said after knocking on the door. When he heard an answer, he opened it. 

“Well if it isn’t Spaghetti Jr.,” Sweet Tofu said lazily, standing up from his desk to usher Steak inside. The red head was confused about the nickname but let himself be lead to the examiner’s table to sit. 

Honestly, he was surprised this guy was a healer. With all the piercings he had, he seemed a bit immature, and Steak wasn’t sure the piercing going from his lip and connecting to his ear was hygienic. The dark circles under his eyes also warranted concern. 

“Oh, but you’re much cuter than Spaghetti,” the odd man commented, leaning in close to Steak. “What seems to be your problem?”

Steak was getting strange vibes off of this Food Soul, and his gut told him that this man might be dangerous. The red head tried to focus his attention on the one eye that wasn’t pale and blind. And was that a collar? 

“I need a salve for some wounds,” he answered straight-forwardly, leaning away from the healer. 

“Well that’s totally specific,” Sweet Tofu said sarcastically, standing up to his full height and crossing his arms. “What kind of wounds? What kind of salve?”

He hadn’t ever thought about needing to go to someone else about inspecting the injuries he’d received from Red Wine, and Steak was starting to wonder if he’d made a poor decision. 

“I’ve been using something to help with pain and swelling,” Steak responded, shifting a bit uncomfortably under the healer’s gaze. 

“I’m going to need to see them,” he sighed. 

“Absolutely not.”

Sweet Tofu put up his hands defensively and smirked. “Woah. Is the Big Bad Spaghetti Jr. self-conscious about a boo-boo?”

Steak snarled. He decided now that he did not like this man. “My name is Steak.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is the Big Bad Steaky-Wakey self-conscious about a boo-boo?” he amended. If Steak had been a little less tempered to dealing with people who pressed his buttons - namely Red Wine - he probably would have punched Sweet Tofu’s lights out. Without Steak even saying anything, the healer tossed his head back and laughed. 

“Sorry, sorry! But you should see your face! It’s very cute,” he said, wiping a tear from one of his eyes. 

Steak’s temper and fires simmered down, but moreso out of confusion, and he was left baffled by how he was supposed to be interacting with this man. In one breath Sweet Tofu taunted him and in another was calling him cute?

“But seriously though, without seeing what you’re talking about I’m not going to be able to help you at all.”

The pain in his neck throbbed, seemingly urging him to just swallow his pride so he could obtain a salve. Steak groaned in opposition, but shrugged out of his coat and unbuckled the top of his shirt to show off one side of his neck. 

“Those are bite marks,” Sweet Tofu said in surprise, his eyes widening when he took a step closer. Steak didn’t respond, and he let Sweet Tofu examine them. The healer leaned in closer, using his arms to cage Steak in between his body and the wall and he gave the red head a burning look. “So you’re into biting, is that it?” he asked lowly. 

He knew what that look meant, and Steak kicked Sweet Tofu in the stomach, putting enough space in between them from Steak to get off the examiner’s table and fix his clothes. He didn’t care how good of a healer he was, Sweet Tofu was seriously messed up. 

Despite having being kicked pretty hard, Sweet Tofu still found it in him to laugh. 

“Wait, wait, I’ve got what you need,” he said in between his laughing, and he reached for a small container from a shelf. “Milk left it for me, she said you’d be coming by to grab it if she didn’t come back soon.” Sweet Tofu tossed it to Steak.

Steak caught the can, and recognized it immediately as the same stuff Milk had made for him. His fires flared as he realized that having this salve meant Sweet Tofu knew the whole time what he was here for and was just toying with him. 

The urge to beat him to a pulp was strong. 

As if he could sense his feeling, Sweet Tofu smirked and gave him a wave. 

“Bye bye, Steaky~, let’s play some more next time.”

Steak slammed the door to the examining room and stalked from the medical wing as quickly as he could. When he was in such a foul mood, he could really be a fire hazard, so he made his way outside and back towards the training grounds. 

Seeing as it was evening, there wasn’t anyone around that Steak was familiar with and would spar with, so he settled with letting out all of his anger on the magically enhanced wood dummies. He was still aching, but his irritation was more pressing, and he hacked and slashed at his imaginary opponent until the moon and stars were the only light for him to go by. 

“Steak,” a familiar voice called to him. Steak let out a ragged breath, stabbing his sword into the ground as he turned. Red Wine was standing behind him with his arms crossed. He seemed to have just woken up, his nocturnal habit creeping up now that he wasn’t on any campaigns. Steak couldn’t see how he could sleep all day with the sun so bright. 

“What?” he responded gruffly, wiping the sweat from his brow. 

“Were you planning on missing dinner?” 

Steak hadn’t really thought about the fact that he’d been out training for so long. His muscles were sore from the over-exertion, and coupled with the pain from Red Wine’s bites, he was feeling doubly horrible once he took a moment and calmed down. 

“I’ll just grab something small,” he huffed, putting his sword away. Both of them needed to be properly cleaned and sharpened, and he’d have to do that after dinner. Red Wine let Steak finish up and walked with him to the restaurant. Steak assumed that maybe Red Wine could tell he was in a bad mood, because he didn’t make any comments that would rile the red head up, and they just walked in silence. Red Wine had no use of coming to dinner seeing as he didn’t eat real food, but as opposed to irritating, his presence was calming. 

It was a weird change. 

When they walked into the restaurant, it seemed that bacon-wrapped tofu was available from the menu, and Steak felt his mood elevate slightly. It was the little things in life sometimes that made everything worth it. 

Once he got his food, he sat down in the corner away from the door and other customers. 

“I must say, you are looking much more worse for wear than normal,” Red Wine said, breaking the silence between them. Steak just grumbled unintelligibly through a mouthful of food. Red Wine scrunched his nose in disgust, but decided not to say anything. 

“Red Wine, how good to see you. You two are in my seats.”

Steak looked up at the regal-looking gentleman addressing them. He had similar hair to his own, and the solemn look on his face seemed to be the textbook definition of “austerity”. He was unfamiliar to Steak, but Red Wine bristled beside him. 

“Spaghetti,” the vampire greeted curtly. Sweet Tofu’s teasings from earlier came to his mind, and Steak could kind of agree that he and Spaghetti looked alike. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Spaghetti’s features softened, and his lips even curved into a slight smile. 

“You two are in my seats, and I want to sit,” he explained. Steak rolled his eyes. Was this guy seriously telling them to move when there were other spaces available? It wasn’t even like Spaghetti could sit in two chairs at once. Even Steak could see that was asinine. 

“Plenty of other chairs in here,” Steak grumbled, not feeling like entertaining this conversation. 

“Steak-”

“And who might you be?” Spaghetti asked, turning his attention to Steak, his face now serious. 

He didn’t feel threatened by a pompous Food Soul who complained about a seat. “Doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Without warning, Steak was grabbed around his neck, head slammed in to the wall behind him. The impact was brutal and unexpected, and Steak’s vision went white for a moment. 

“I asked for your name.” The glare Spaghetti was giving him was menacing and wild, and Steak felt a rush of fear. 

“Spaghetti, stop. There are humans here; no need to cause a scene,” Red Wine said, placing his arms between the two men and gently pushing them apart. Spaghetti didn’t release his hold from Steak’s neck and he smiled crookedly. 

“I’ll just kill them.”

“That’s not necessary, and Master Erika wouldn’t be very happy with that decision,” Red Wine argued. There was a moment of silence, their scene having drawn the attention of the other patrons. 

Spaghetti opened his hand, letting Steak fall to the floor. When he was released, he coughed and sputtered for his breath. 

“No matter. I’ll spare _both_ of you your dinner,” he said pointedly before turning around with a flourish. “Oh, and Red Wine? If you begin growing tired of that mongrel, you are always welcome to return to me for a more gourmet meal. Spending too much time with the chaff can corrupt you.” Having said his piece, he walked away, taking a serving to have his dinner elsewhere. 

After Spaghetti left, Red Wine turned to Steak. 

“We should leave. He’s the type of man to kill on the slightest whim. He enjoys toying with people.” The vampire held out his hand to help Steak up, but the red head slapped it away. 

“You know him?” he growled, standing up on his own accord. Red Wine looked at him in confusion. 

“We knew each other in a different lifetime. I didn’t know he was here.”

_”You’re always welcome to return to me for a more gourmet meal.”_

Steak didn’t know why Spaghetti’s words pierced him so deep, and why his flames burned tight and hot. He wanted to know if Red Wine had fed from Spaghetti too, even if that information didn’t really matter. A burning emotion he couldn’t place welled up inside of him, and he felt pressed to ask about Spaghetti and Red Wine’s relationship with him. Was Steak simply a replacement for the vampire?

“Whatever, I’m not hungry,” he said, feeling more beaten and exhausted than if he’d had fought a Fallen Angel. He stood and walked away from their table. 

“Steak, where are you going?” Red Wine asked, following after him. 

“Don’t follow me!” Steak barked, flames suddenly intense. The edge of Red Wine’s sleeve was singed and the vampire winced at the onslaught of heat. Having made his point clear, Steak walked away. 

His swords needed tending to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it's not one thing, it's another.
> 
> Starting in the next chapter, the story is really going to take off! Thank you everyone who reads this story!! I've made some friends through this fandom already and it's so wonderful to talk to people with similar interests. If you aren't already there, I'd recommend joining the SteakWine discord server! It's very chill and full of great and talented people! The link is: https://discord.gg/TUeTQ78
> 
> Speaking of good friends, a person I met through Food Fantasy has been awesome and has helped me a lot making sure I get backstories and stuff right! Her name is Dani and I put Spaghetti in this chapter just for her! 
> 
> I was really worried about writing him because characters like Spaghetti elude me. For those of you who have seen his backstory, I wanted to clarify that when he says "Hanging around the chaff will corrupt you" he isn't talking about simple politics and more about personalities?? Like it doesn't actually matter if you're all fancy-like, but if a person is bad, that'll mess you up. He's pretty much recognizing that Red Wine is a goodo, but thinks Steak is inferior and doesn't deserve his company.
> 
> I also really enjoyed putting Sweet Tofu in this chapter! He'll show up more because he's quickly become my favorite character!!
> 
> WHEW, that was long!!! If you like this work, please feel free to leave comments or kudos!! and recommend it to your friends!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally finished the rough draft of the next few chapters all the way to the end!!! Currently at 30k words!!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

_The same dream, floating in a sea of nothing. His perception stretched as far as the boundaries of this world existed, and there were none. There was nothing around him in the infinity - in the void, and all at once he felt frozen solid and slowly burning. It wasn’t uncomfortable, it just_ was _, and the unavoidable pull towards the end of forever tugged him. He couldn’t ignore it, and so he answered the call..._

Steak woke up with a gasp. His skin was clammy and he panted heavily from the lingering sensations of his dream. It had been a while since he’d had one like that, and he never knew what to make of them. He sighed as he ran a hand through his mop of red hair, urging his muscles to relax from being on so on edge. The salve he’d gotten from Sweet Tofu was working miracles, and he barely felt the pain of the healing bite marks. It also helped that he hadn’t seen Red Wine in a few days, which meant no new marks. 

It wasn’t as if he was actively trying to avoid him, but trying to figure out his feelings was difficult, and he knew that every time he saw the older Food Soul, he had the intense urge to grill him about unnecessary matters. Steak wished Red Wine hadn’t been the source of his issues, for once, because he was having a hard time deciphering his feelings himself. 

He decided to go train. 

Finding Hamburger on his off days was easy, considering he was prone to showing off. In the center of the city he found the younger brunet demonstrating his skateboard tricks, balancing precariously off the edge of the fountain and earning raucous applause. Once he was on his feet, Steak grabbed the Food Soul by the collar of his shirt, and dragged him to where the training grounds were. All the while, Hamburger put up a fight, complaining about his interrupted show. 

“If you wanted to get your ass kicked again, you could’ve just said so,” Hamburger said cockily once they arrived, standing and brushing all the dirt from his clothes. Steak pulled his swords from their sheaths and wrapped the metal with his flames. He was feeling in top shape minus his muddled head, and by evading and blocking Hamburger’s skateboard, he could feel some of the tension melt away from him. Their duel went on for a little while, before Steak saw an opportunity, letting his flames blaze and distract the younger Food Soul as he tripped Hamburger with one of his swords. 

When the brunet was on the ground, Steak’s sword went to his neck, signaling his win.

Winded, Hamburger took a moment to gather himself before beaming. 

“Glad to have you back, dude!” he said excitedly. Steak put away his swords, and reached out a hand to help up his comrade. Hamburger took it gratefully, before raising an eyebrow. 

“Wanna go again?”

Five losses for Hamburger later, and the brunet gave up. Considering the time of day, Steak decided to grab food from the restaurant.

“I’ve got an assignment for you,” Coffee said when Steak walked into the restaurant. Everyone knew who Coffee was, as he was one of Master Attendant’s first summons, and he frequently employed Food Souls to go on missions and assignments through Satan’s Coffee Shop, which he managed on the other side of town. For the more intense requests, he would go through Master Attendant and have a team formed, but normally it’d just be an individual mission that could be completed relatively easily. 

“What is it?” Steak asked, setting down his food and sitting. Without being asked, Coffee sat down across from him. 

“It’s a rescue mission. It seems that a young boy has been kidnapped. His kidnappers have requested a ransom but it seems the family is unable to pay.”

Steak listened half-heartedly, instead he found himself staring at Coffee’s shades. Who was pretentious enough to wear shades indoors? 

“Master Attendant has approved a small team. You’ll be departing with 3 others later this evening,” he finished.

Steak filled his mouth with food. 

“Who are the others?’ he asked, not bothering to swallow. 

“Sweet Tofu, Hamburger, and Red Wine.”

Steak paused in his chewing and groaned. There probably wasn’t a worse team for him to be working with right now. 

“Whatever, just come find me when it’s time.”

He finished his lunch, and decided he might as well get his gear ready for his mission. It didn’t sound like it would be too difficult, considering they were Food Souls up against what he assumed would be bandits. He took the time to polish his blades and to gather materials he would need, making sure to put his salve in an easy to access place. 

It was sunset when Coffee knocked on his door to tell him it was time to leave. 

Steak made his way to the front of the restaurant where he was meeting with the other members of his team. It seemed like he was the last to be gathered, and Red Wine opened his mouth, to say what Steak assumed would be a snarky comment

“And last but not least, it’s Steaky~” Sweet Tofu drawled, beating Red Wine to the punch. The vampire looked absolutely horrified at Sweet Tofu’s familiar tone. 

“Stop calling me that,” Steak growled. Sweet Tofu simply stuck out a pierced tongue in reply. 

“I’ve marked your location on this map. It’ll take a few days to get there, please write once you arrive,” Coffee said, adjusting his shades. Red Wine took the map from him. 

“Thank you, Coffee, for your diligence.”

“No problem.” After that, he turned to go back in the restaurant. 

Hamburger wrapped his arm around Steak’s neck, the pressure making the red head wince. His bite marks may be healing but they weren’t perfect. 

“This is gonna be so awesome! Just like the good old days of exploring those Catacombs together!” he cheered. Steak shoved the Food Soul off of him and started walking away from the restaurant. 

“Let’s leave.” Steak didn’t feel like hanging around, knowing it would get real awkward real fast. He could feel Red Wine’s eye boring holes into him as he walked, but the older Food Soul stopped his glaring to lead using the map. One of the things that Steak hadn’t noticed until Red Wine explained it to him was the vampire’s superior vision. He supposed it was why Red Wine was chosen for this mission, so they could travel at night, and if he knew their Master Attendant’s way of thinking, bringing Red Wine meant bringing Steak, and subsequently, Hamburger. He could’ve lived without Sweet Tofu being on the team though. 

“How are those wounds healing?” Sweet Tofu asked, question grabbing Red Wine’s attention. 

“Yeah did you get them taken care of?” Hamburger asked, relatively loudly. Red Wine promptly reminded him to lower his voice. 

“They’re fine,” Steak responded, not wanting to talk at length about them. He didn’t know how secretive Red Wine wanted to keep their arrangement, and talking about the bite marks just brought more attention to it. 

“I could always look at them for you again,” he pressed, saddling up next to Steak in a way that made him uncomfortable. 

“I’m _fine_ ,” Steak growled, moving away from Sweet Tofu. 

Red Wine fell back to stand in between Steak and the healer. 

“Please do forgive his incorrigible behavior. He’s been out of sorts recently,” Red Wine interrupted, speaking on Steak's behalf to Sweet Tofu, though his voice carried a dangerous undertone. If it got Sweet Tofu to back off though, Steak didn’t really mind. 

Hamburger’s light chatter filled their journey, and it wasn’t until the moon was high in the sky that Red Wine stopped them to rest. 

“We should make camp here, and be on our way in the morning.” 

Hamburger noisily collapsed on the ground. 

“Why’d we leave at night anyways? Wouldn’t it have been better just to wait until tomorrow?” he questioned, dropping the backpack that contained his bedroll on the ground. “Is this what it’s like on the main team?”

Steak shrugged and Red Wine grinned. “Sometimes, we don’t sleep at all for days,” he teased, causing Steak to roll his eyes. He walked away to grab some sticks for their campfire, using his flames to illuminate the way. 

“Hold on, I’ll accompany you.”

Steak prickled at the vampire’s voice, but let him follow after him. Steak’s skills at perception weren’t very great, but he could tell Red Wine wanted to talk to him, so he went a bit denser than normal to find sticks.

“I would like to know the reason I’ve seemed to draw your ire,” Red Wine started, voiced pressed and hushed. 

“What?”

“You’re avoiding me.” The statement came out so plainly that there was no way Steak could even try to argue it. He paused in gathering sticks and looked at the vampire. It’d been a few days since he took a good look at him. 

“Who’s Spaghetti?”

Red Wine’s eyebrows immediately furrowed. 

“Is that what this is about? I could ask you the same thing, all cozied up with that healer,” the raven-haired man scoffed, crossing his arms. Steak didn’t even feel like commenting on his point, and he continued on, grabbing sticks. They were silent for a while before he heard Red Wine let out an irritated sigh. 

“I know Spaghetti from a few lifetimes ago. I used to rely on him for feeding, but he’s honestly a horrible man; there’s no one I hate more,” Red Wine explained. 

“So you hate him?” Steak mused. 

“Yes.”

“Like the way you hate me, or you _actually_ hate him?”

Steak’s question left Red Wine stupefied, and had the vampire had blood to spare, Steak was sure it probably rushed to his face. 

“He was probably going to kill you over a _chair_ , Steak, it would be inane for me to attempt at furthering any connection with him.”

Steak didn’t think Spaghetti was any sort of threat or competition, but hearing about his past with Red Wine seemed to drive a stake through his heart. He didn’t understand why thinking about it left a sour taste in his mouth, but he was satisfied by Red Wine’s answer. 

“Are you _jealous_?” Red Wine asked incredulously. The question put a name to Steak’s feelings, and he felt his flames grow briefly. 

“No!” he snapped, but just as he wasn’t truly convinced that was the case, neither was Red Wine, and the vampire smiled. 

“There’s no need for you to be jealous of him, even if he is more regal and has much more decorum than you could ever dream of achieving.”

“I’m going to throw these sticks at you.”

Red Wine scoffed but dropped the subject. “But truly, what can I say? I have a type.”

The idea of being considered Red Wine’s type was a tad more romantic than Steak was comfortable with, and he focused his attention once more to looking for sticks. He was collecting far too many for just one night’s worth of fire, but it was a better alternative than not doing anything at all and talking to Red Wine directly. He didn’t respond, and the vampire took that as an opportunity to continue. 

“But what is your relationship with Sweet Tofu?”

Steak looked up at Red Wine, one of his eyebrows raised. 

“I went to see him for more salve since someone insisted on being a pain in the neck.”

“Haha, a joke. So funny, Steak,” Red Wine said unamused. 

Steak snorted. He found his own joke mildly humorous. “I only met him a couple days ago. He’s very….strange.” He couldn’t think of a word that encapsulated the experience he’s had so far with Sweet Tofu. 

“I see, so he’s not anyone to be worried about?

“Absolutely not.”

“I see,” Red Wine repeated, and afterwards they were left in silence. Steak made a bit of a show collecting more sticks, arms loaded up with more than enough firewood to sustain them for the night. Without speaking, Red Wine moved in to Steak’s space, crowding him against a tree, the wood he’d collected clattered to the forest floor. 

“Red Wine, what the hell?!”

“You weren’t planning on leaving me hungry were you? It’s been nearly two weeks since I last fed, Steak,” Red Wine hummed, pressing a chilled hand against the red head’s abdomen. Steak hadn’t really thought about the last time Red Wine fed from him. Ever since they started having sex, Red Wine fed less, even if he did actually bite him more. The younger Food Soul shivered under Red Wine’s touch. 

“They’re going to notice we’ve been missing,” Steak protested weakly, letting Red Wine unfasten the buckle at his collar. 

“You’re the one who decided to grab too much fire wood,” Red Wine responded, pressing his body against Steak’s. Even without intimate contact, Steak could feel himself reacting, and he lowered his flames, embarrassed by how telling they were. 

“Okay, fine,” Steak hissed. “Just try and be more gentle than usual.” 

Red Wine paused, and looked at Steak’s face, which he so adamantly tried to hide. In the darkness, the flush of his face was concealed, but Red Wine could see everything. 

“You really will be the death of me,” he murmured before bringing their lips together, kissing Steak hotly while grabbing his sides. Steak didn’t protest, and leaned into the kiss with fervor. Letting their tongues mingle, Steak let out a small gasp when he felt Red Wine’s teeth prick his lip. The vampire didn’t utter an apology, and moved his attention lower to Steak’s neck. The taste of herbs was offensive, but Red Wine found a relatively clean spot and sunk his teeth into Steak. Per his request, Red Wine made sure to be as gentle as possible, and lessened the magic he used as to not stir up Steak as much. The flames around them danced wildly, tightened until they were mostly red, the orange and yellow wisps nearly unperceivable. It was embarrassing, but all Steak could do was clutch Red Wine as the vampire fed, trying to keep himself and his fire under control. 

After a few moments the flames sputtered out, snuffed by the concentration of keeping them contained. His body couldn’t deny that he wanted Red Wine intimately, and his heart thundered in his chest at the contact. When Red Wine finally pulled away, Steak felt like he could breathe easy. 

“You asshole,” he rasped, fighting off the familiar dizziness from blood loss. Red Wine licked the remaining blood from his lips and fastened Steak’s collar for him. 

“Words cannot explain how delectable you look right now.”

Steak’s fires roared to life, nearly catching the nearby foliage on fire. There was a heaviness to Red Wine’s tone that drove Steak wild, and had they not been pressed by other matters, he knew that they wouldn’t be able to control themselves. 

“Let’s get back to the others, they’ve waited long enough.”

The walk back was less tense then the walk there, despite the sexual tension. When they found their campsite, Hamburger was nearly asleep on his bedroll. 

“You’re back. We were starting to get worried,” Sweet Tofu hummed from where he sat against a tree. It seemed he was organizing his medical stuff, and he had already set his bedroll out. 

“Steak decided to gather more wood than necessary,” Red Wine explained, walking over to his own pack to set up his bed roll. Without any trouble, Steak brought the fire to life before unwrapping some leftovers to heat up. 

“Sure,” Sweet Tofu responded unconvinced, giving them a knowing look. The talking made Hamburger stir, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

“Are Steak and Red Wine back?” he asked. 

“We are, and while Steak heats up the food, I think we should review our watch rotation,” Red Wine huffed, sitting only on top of the bed roll he laid out. Red Wine, of course, didn’t need to eat the food brought, but Steak was concerned and confused when Sweet Tofu denied food as well, claiming he wasn’t hungry.

Despite it being a bit of a change from what he was used to, Steak let himself relax with this team, finding comfort in Red Wine’s presence and Hamburger’s chatter. Sweet Tofu still made him feel uneasy, but for the night, he could ignore it. After eating, Sweet Tofu, Red Wine, and Steak went to sleep, leaving the first rotation to Hamburger, and as he drifted off, Steak wondered how his other friends were doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit more humor in this one, and a short note this time too!!
> 
> Come say hey and as always, please let me know if you see any mistakes!!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next couple of chapters are a bit shorter than usual, but we're nearing the end folks!

“We shouldn’t be that far off now,” Red Wine said, tucking the map into his coat for good. As they neared their destination it became apparent that Red Wine was getting more antsy. Considering the town that was requested by Satan’s Coffee Shop was postured right near the border between Light Kingdom and Nevras, it made sense. Steak, who usually didn’t care much about other peoples’ feelings or opinions, refrained from exacerbating any of Red Wine’s uneasiness. 

The family that had sent in the wish had been waiting for them in the town square, and when their ragtag group of Food Souls walked through the village, they were found immediately. 

“Are you the one’s from Satan’s?” a young woman asked frantically. 

Hamburger gave her a smile. 

“We are.”

The woman eye’s lit up. 

“My name is Rina Tanner, my brother was the one that was taken. Please, follow me

The young woman gave them no time to respond, and in a panic, walked to a house. Inside, there were an older couple who looked stricken with grief.

“Oh, thank the heavens!” the eldest woman cried upon seeing them. Hamburger’s face was painted with discomfort. “Are you the saviors from Satan’s? I didn’t know who else to turn to. My son – Kenta – he was taken by some thugs!” 

“I’m terribly sorry to hear about the situation with your son,” Red Wine started, bowing lightly. Steak could tell from the barely concealed discomfort that he wanted to be the last person to speak on behalf of their group, but considering Hamburger spoke plainly in the best circumstances and that Sweet Tofu couldn’t be trusted to say a kind word, there wasn’t much else of a choice.

“We don’t have much money, but our rice farm is one of the best in around,” the father said gruffly. “Those damned bandits stole our son and now demand a ransom we can’t pay.”

Sweet Tofu hummed in acknowledgement, though it seemed lackluster. 

“Where is the location in which to exchange the ransom?”

“Further west from here, through the forest. They told us they’d be there every sundown.”

Going west was against all of Red Wine’s desires, and Steak could tell, but after gathering more information, they headed out immediately. The quicker they got this over with, the quicker they went home. 

“Steaky~,” Sweet Tofu hummed, leaning his head on the red head’s shoulder. “When will we have _our_ romantic midnight playtime?” Steak shrugged away from him.   
“Stop calling me that,” he grumbled. 

Hamburger snickered. 

“So rude. And after sharing such an intimate moment in my examination room,” he sighed dreamily. Red Wine turned and glared at Sweet Tofu. 

“You really take your jests too far,” he hissed, shoving the map into the healer’s chest. “It’s your turn to lead.”

The venom in his tone made even Hamburger back off, and Sweet Tofu gave a languid smile before walking ahead. After a while, Steak and Red Wine fell back behind the others.

“I don’t trust that guy,” Red Wine mumbled, barely audible over the sounds of their travel. Steak looked towards him from the corner of his eye. 

“He’s weird,” Steak responded, just as quietly. 

Red Wine rolled his eyes. “Yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I haven’t seen him eat anything this entire trip, and this morning he had the scent of blood on him.”

Few things at this point could surprise Steak, and he simply hummed in acknowledgement. The suspicion may have been warranted, but it’s not as if they could ask for confirmation.

“Could be a coincidence,” Steak responded. From beside him he heard Red Wine scoff, followed by a choked noise a few moments later. He was on high alert and when he turned to the vampire, he was clutching his chest. 

“Red? What’s wrong?” 

Steak’s alarmed questions grabbed Sweet Tofu and Hamburger’s attention. Sweet Tofu shoved the map into Hambuger’s hands, rushing back and placing his hands on Red Wine, a faint orange glow spreading from his fingers and enveloping the vampire quickly. Red Wine’s grip on his chest went slack, and he began to breathe easier. 

“I’m not seeing anything wrong with him physically,” Sweet Tofu said, his eyebrows furrowed together. He removed his hands and the orange light faded. “But your pain should’ve stopped at least.”

Red Wine looked down at his hands and for a moment seemed stuck in a trance. 

“Red Wine?” Steak asked, placing his hand on the vampire’s back. He gasped and flinched slightly at the contact before regaining his wits, and he shrugged off Steak’s hand.   
“I don’t know what that was about. Sorry to inconvenience you. Let’s just keep moving,” he said after clearing his throat. He took both the map from Hamburger, and also the lead to guide them to the ransom spot. 

Until they got to the designated area, nothing else strange had happened, but somewhere deep in the Academy, an alarm went off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you see any mistakes! You guys are wonderful as always!!! 
> 
> As I said before, if you are interested in talking SteakWine with some chill and like-minded folks, come chat on discord! https://discord.gg/TVUmXmQ


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some violence in this chapter, and the violence will indeed get worse in future chapters. Consider this your warning.

Reaching the ransom spot was easy, but having to wait for the bandits until sundown was harder. It didn’t help that they were a little on edge because of Red Wine’s episode. They came up with a plan of action to ambush the bandits. Even if they weren’t much of a fight, it was better safe than sorry, especially when there was a hostage involved.

“Didn’t show again today, I guess they really don’t care about the brat.”

At the sound of a gruff voice, Steak readied his weapons. He wasn’t much of a sleuth, but he waited on Red Wine, who was stationed much closer to where the bandits were, to give them the signal. 

The vampire held up four fingers, before sticking out just his thumb and pointer finger. Following those two signs, he stuck up just his pinky, making sure it made a perfect vertical line. Understanding immediately, Steak passed the message on to Hamburger with a whisper and then to Sweet Tofu with hand signs, who was hiding a little ways behind him. 

There were four bandits in sight; however, only two were armed. Kenta seemed to be with them. Steak was ready to pounce whenever Red Wine gave the signal, his hand on Hamburger’s shoulder so they could move simultaneously. When Red Wine disappeared from his post, Steak hopped from the brush, dragging Hamburger along with them. 

“What the hell-?!”

Red Wine’s sword went through one of the armed men’s throat from behind. The other three reacted, but because Red Wine was so fast, they weren’t able to see him, instead focusing their attention to Hamburger and Steak, who were charging towards them loudly. Only one of them still had a weapon, and he held his sword menacingly up to their hostage’s throat, but before he could say a word, Red Wine slit open his belly and kicked him away from the child, grabbing the frightened boy and moving away from them.   
In the time it took for the disemboweled man’s intestines to drop, Hamburger jumped up on his skateboard, kicking it with insane power to the other two guys. They fell to the ground painfully, before Steak ran his two swords through their necks, pinning them to the ground. 

In a moment the battle was over, and the child with them began to cry. 

“Don’t worry, little dude, we’re here to save you!” Hamburger said, and while the child stopped screaming, he seemed a little wary of the strangers. 

“Are you guys Food Souls?” he asked hesitantly between whimpers. Red Wine in the meantime went to cutting off the boy’s ropes. 

“We are! Your parents sent us here,” the brunet responded, walking to where Steak was to get his skateboard. Steak removed his swords from the dead men’s throats. 

“So cool!” the kid said, no longer scared, but enthralled by his saviors. 

“Let’s just go, we’ve gotten what we need,” Sweet Tofu said, picking a leave from his clothes. His arrival to the rest of them gave Kenta a shock, not expecting a fourth Food Soul. 

“You’re right,” Red Wine said, sheathing his sword. Steak could tell he was antsy to leave, which was sad considering he was having fun on this mission. Maybe if they could steer away from Nevras in the future, it wouldn’t be so stressful. Steak thought he wouldn’t mind working again for Satan’s in his downtime.

With the child accompanying them, they began to make their way through the forest back to where they came. 

“Honestly that was a piece of cake,” Hamburger sighed, putting his arms behind his head leisurely. “I wish they’d have put up more of a fight.” 

Steak had to agree with his sentiment; however, this was a rescue mission, and not fighting Fallen Angels on the front lines. He itched for battle, finding it easy to hack and slash at his problems when they were tangible. Through Hamburger’s talking, from a ways off, Red Wine heard the sound of horses. 

“Wait, everyone quiet.”

The urgency of his voice made everyone freeze, and in the near silence, Steak was able to hear it too. 

“Horses?”

“Do you think they’re after _us_?” Hamburger asked. No one answered him, preferring to listen. When the hoof beats gradually got louder, it was clear someone was pursuing them. It was a stretch to think the thrown-together group of bandits had horses and could ride them, but Steak couldn’t think of anyone else who would come after them.

“Split up!” Steak said as he began to run. “Red Wine, you take the kid!”

It made sense, considering Red Wine was the fastest of all of them. 

“Rendezvous at the client’s house!” Sweet Tofu shouted before he got too far out of reach. Steak readied his swords in case they were going to be tracked down. His hearing might have been great, but Red Wine’s was better, and he wasn’t able to get an accurate read on how many enemies they were up against or how far away they were. However, if they were riding horses, it would at least be humans or Food Souls and not Fallen Angels. 

Steak made sure to extinguish his flames, not wanting to catch any of the forest on fire and leave a singed trail behind him, and he ran as far as he could, exhausting his breath, before slowing to a stop. He couldn’t be sure he wasn’t being followed, so he made sure to walk in order to keep a steady pace. Looking up, he gauged his direction by the sun, and preserving his energy, began making his way East, towards the village. 

As he got closer, the pull inside of his began to grow. At first it was nearly imperceptible, but when he finally saw the first buildings of the village, he could feel a pressure on his soul to turn around. It had been a while since he’d had that feeling, and he brushed it off. 

Steak was the second one to reach the client’s house. It seemed Hamburger continued running directly East and arrived first, and before nightfall, Sweet Tofu strolled leisurely into town. They didn’t go inside, only meeting near the house so they could regroup before completing their mission. The tugging inside of him was more insistent now and it filled Steak with an unfamiliar sense of dread and worry. Red Wine was definitely the fastest of their group, and even slowed down with the weight of a child, he should’ve been able to at least make it back into town before night. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure he just got lost or the kid had to take a leak,” Hamburger said, slapping Steak’s back. The red head growled. 

The three of them were currently sitting at a tavern. Without Red Wine and Kenta, they couldn’t complete their mission, so instead they went to go eat. Remembering what Red Wine said about his suspicions of Sweet Tofu’s nature, Steak eyed him. The healer had ordered something light to drink, and even ordered a bacon dish. Much to Steak’s surprise, he did eat it, even if he did seem to pick at it. 

“Mister Food Souls!”

The three of them turned to the tavern entrance and saw Kenta, tattered and bruised, standing with his concerned mother. He was out of breath, and despite his disheveled appearance, there was one thing missing.

Immediately Steak knew something was wrong, and he stood. 

“Where’s Red Wine?” he questioned, sounding more ferocious than intended. 

“They took him! Those guys in the Academy uniforms took him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Duh duh DUUUUUUUNNNN. 
> 
> Pretty sure I've said that in a note at the end before. Hope you guys are enjoying this!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I obviously have no concept of self-control, so I'm going to be posting the entire rest of this fic in one go. At least that means you guys won't have to wait for updates!
> 
> In this chapter, we finally get a little Red Wine POV!!!

When Red Wine came to, he was locked in heavy shackles. 

The last thing he remembered was running with Kenta, before a sharp pain in his leg and then nothing. Not yet in a state to examine his own condition, he just groaned. From what he could tell, he was being transported in a metal cage by horse. It took him a few bleary moments before he realized everything that was going on, but when he saw the distinct uniforms of the Academy, Red Wine felt an icy cold shock go through him. 

“Let me out of here,” he growled. The man riding atop the horse beside him snorted, but he received no other reply. 

“I am currently in a contract with a Master Attendant who will be severely disappointed when she learns of my absence.”

Once again, no reply. 

“I promise you will regret this decision.”

For the next ten minutes, Red Wine tried everything he could, from threatening the researchers to bargaining, and neither even seemed to bat an eyelash at him. It was beneath him to try and negotiate for his own life, but as he met more and more resistance, memories of being a test subject slowly came back to him. Resorting to drastic measures, he began to push on his cage, rocking it to make it impossible to transport him. 

“Stop that or we will knock you out again,” the researcher barked, pointing an electrified rod his way. It was enough to get Red Wine to stop, but the vampire turned up his nose in disgust. He would keep a cool exterior as he thought of another plan. 

Inside, however, he was mayhem. 

Red Wine knew that he should’ve been wary of Nevras and of the Academy, but his suspicions seemed to be borderline paranoia when he voiced them to Erika and Steak. That pain he felt earlier was no doubt the marker being activated on his soul after so long, notifying the Academy of his exact whereabouts. The city was close to the border between Nevras and Light Kingdom, and they must’ve passed the boundary that divided the territories on their way to retrieve Kenta. He had trepidations with accepting this mission, but he consoled himself by telling himself that it had been lifetimes since he’d been an experiment, and that there was no way they kept up with his identification for so long.

But he was wrong, and traveling in a metal cage with shackles on his wrists and ankles in the middle of the night made him shiver. He would never admit it out loud, but he missed Steak and the warmth he always exuded. Like his own personal sun, just standing next to him felt like huddling around a furnace, and his blood was so hot and pure that it burned under Red Wine’s skin even as it traveled through his own veins. Steak’s blood was a small comfort, and Red Wine smiled wryly at how, even now, Steak was saving a part of him by helping his sanity. Even when Steak didn’t know it, he had saved Red Wine countless times.

After a few hours of slow traveling, the Academy started coming into view above the trees. Red Wine had been too prideful to allow his panic to get the better of him, but as he realized he was out of time, that panic began to surface. 

“Please!” he begged, pressing his face against the bars. “Don’t take me back there!” 

When his begging got no response, he began rocking the cart again, trying to tip it over in a desperate attempt to escape. He ignored the shouts from the researchers, and felt his system flooded with crackling electricity in retaliation. 

Until he was subdued, the white hot energy pulsed through his veins and overloaded all his senses. 

“What’s the meaning of this?!"

Red Wine collapsed on the floor of his cage, ears ringing and eyesight fuzzy from the shock. In his daze, he could make out a young, unfamiliar figure, wearing the white uniform of the Academy, but beside her…

“Master...Attendant…?”

“Red!” Gingerbread shrieked, rushing towards where he was being held. 

“Step away from the test subject,” one of the researchers said, brandishing her rod. Gingerbread turned her yellow eyes to the stranger. 

“Test subject? I will kill you where you stand,” she responded threateningly. 

“Gingerbread!” Erika scolded

“I believe there has been a huge misunderstanding,” said the young girl with the Academy uniform. 

“Mithra-!”

“That Food Soul there belongs to my friend, who also happens to be an esteemed guest of mine.”

“But, Mithra, ma’am, there’s been a sealed contract placed on this Food Soul’s spirit that overrides any contract formed with a Master Attendant. He belongs to the Academy!”

“What contract? You know as well as I that if the current Dean does not sign off on such things, they are voided,” she replied cooly. The other two researchers looked at one another.

“Well, then the contract should be reviewed.”

“Let Red Wine go,” Black Tea said, her voice hiding a furious storm. 

“Not until we have this case settled,” the other researcher said gruffly. 

Red Wine, who began to come back to his senses, blinked slowly. 

“Then we will settle it post-haste. The Food Soul will come with us until we have this matter negotiated,” Mithra huffed.

“Mithra wait,” his Master Attendant said, “you can’t just take Red Wine with you into the Academy!”

Mithra turned a solemn looking expression to Erika. 

“You won’t be allowed to enter the Academy. I will fight for Red Wine on your behalf, and I guarantee I will get him out, even if I have to erase that sealed contract myself,” she replied, mumbling that last part. For a moment Master Attendant Erika locked eyes with Mithra adamantly. 

“Fine.”

“Master Attendant!” Gingerbread said, incredulously. “You’re just going to hand Red over to the Academy?!”

“Mithra will handle it,” Erika responded, “and until then, we will wait here outside the Academy.” Her words were a slap to the face for Red Wine, and he wondered if she realized what she was doing, signing him over to his torturers. He had trusted her, and believed her to be a loving and caring Master Attendant; he didn't want to think differently now, despite the twisting betrayal in his gut.

The researchers who kept Red Wine captive seemed to agree with the proposal, and together with Mithra they walked into the Academy. 

Aside from flying there, getting to the floating structures seemed to use magic. Once they had landed on the Academy’s surface, Red Wine stayed vigilant of his surroundings. 

“I must say that I’m extremely curious about this Food Soul,” Mithra said, turning calculating black eyes towards him. 

“You’re a rather peculiar specimen yourself,” Red Wine retorted, tone full of venom. Mithra smiled and continued to walk to where Red Wine assumed the Dean’s office was. Even lofted above the clouds, the Academy was freezing. Without the sunlight during the day to warm the structures, Red Wine felt himself shiver. Steak’s blood from the night before was the only thing keeping him warm, but even the heat of the red head Food Soul’s blood was no match for the Nevras chill. 

Once again as his mind wandered to Steak, his mood dropped. If he were to live out the rest of his days for eternity being studied, his biggest regret would be not being able to see Steak again or experience his radiance. But if there was anything he knew about the fiery Food Soul, it was that he would find a way to save him despite the circumstances.


	16. Chapter 16

He didn’t know how he knew where Red Wine was, he simply followed the desperate pull in his chest further and further, non-stop. 

“Steak, slow down!” Hamburger panted, he and Sweet Tofu trying to keep up with his reckless pace. 

Even though his lungs were burning from exertion, he couldn’t stop his legs from running. He _needed_ to get to Red Wine. He needed to save him. 

Breaking through the tree line to where the Academy was, Steak stopped in pure shock. 

“Steak!” Gingerbread called, running up to him and hugging him around his midsection. “We’ve missed you!”

Erika saw the frantic look on Steak’s face, and could tell what he was after before he asked. 

“Where’s Red Wine?” 

Gingerbread let him go, and the small gathering looked down glumly, all except Yuxiang and the man with the monocle. He took a long drag from his pipe. 

“The Academy took him,” he said lazily. 

“They _what_?!” Steak yelled, fires roaring furiously. 

“Steak, calm down, we have a friend in the Academy who is trying to sort everything out,” their Master Attendant said, marginally frightened by Steak’s outburst. "We can trust her."

This was his fault. He should’ve known that when Red Wine felt that odd pain it had something to do with the Academy. He knew and he should’ve made Red Wine turn around and go back to the Light Kingdom, and now he was gone. 

The idea that Red Wine would be lost forever left an ugly hole in the middle of his heart, and the only sensation he could think of that was vaguely similar was having the breath knocked out of him by a strong attack. Steak didn’t know what to do with his feelings, all he knew was that he couldn’t let Red Wine be taken and tortured. 

“How could you let them take him,” he snarled towards their Master Attendant, “he told you what they did to him. How they tortured him!”

Concerned for her friend and Master Attendant, Black Tea stood. Gingerbread made a move to stop him from stepping any closer to their Master Attendant.

“Steak, you are out of contr-” 

“He _told_ you!” Steak yelled, his fires blowing sky high and catching the tree line on fire. Gingerbread shielded herself from his flames, the tips of her hair and one of her gloves singed from how close she was standing to the other. Such an outburst was unprecedented for him, and Milk, Gingerbread, and Black Tea all readied themselves in the event Steak attacked Erika. Even Hamburger readied his skateboard.

Yuxiang, also worried from the outburst, tugged on the mysterious brunet’s sleeve. 

“Peking Duck, shouldn’t you do something?” 

Peking Duck simply blew a cloud of smoke. “I’m actually quite enjoying this.”

It was uncharacteristic for Steak to get so consumed by his emotions that he would lash out on his own Master Attendant, and in a moment of clarity, instead of taking his building rage out on her, he turned his attention to the Academy, lofting about the sky. He needed to figure out a way up there.

“Steak, calm down, we just need to wait here for them to come back,” Erika said, voice wavering slightly. 

“I’m going to get him.”

“Don’t be crazy!” Gingerbread commented, “There’s no way you could get up there unless you could fly!”

Her words gave Steak an idea; something he hadn’t made use of in many lifetimes. Looking towards the sky, he accumulated massive amount of magic in his body, allowing the fire that flowed through him to be released all at once, and localized to a specific part of the ground. The force of the pressurized flames from his fingers and the updraft of the burning grass allowed Steak to lift himself off the ground. The flames followed him, covering him and his ascent to the Academy, and they began to wrap around his body, giving him power and control he’d never experienced. 

If he could only get to Red Wine quickly enough, maybe he could be spared the torture. 

However, if he had been stronger, smarter, more vigilant before, there wouldn’t be any problems. Shame and anger welled up inside him with levels unknown to the Food Soul. Magic flames began burning out of his eyes and mouth, and the rage building up inside his heart only fueled it. He crashed through the roof of the Academy and roared, fire charring everything as it spewed from his mouth. Steak had never felt more powerful, and it was dizzying, the feeling of having such unchecked power in his grasp.

Steak wondered why he’d never had this power before. Why he’d never unlocked and utilized it. 

Using the flames, he was able to soar through the hallways, and he incinerated tapestries and wooden doors on his way, following that pull in his heart that was stronger than the rage consuming him. At the end of the hallway there was a large door, and when he reached out, a slimy, dark tentacle ribbed with white teeth ripped the door from his hinges.

The sight of Red Wine, bound by heavy metal and locked in a cage, sent Steak over the edge. 

He screamed, his horns growing as his body began to take an ugly shape. More tentacles unfolded from his being, bursting forth like an alien from its host. Easily, he ripped the top off Red Wine’s cage and sent the cage clattering on its side, but his anger honed in on the two researchers standing beside the vampire, brandishing rods. 

How cute, Steak thought, before wiping them out with a long-reaching tentacle. Their bodies cracked against the far wall, two splatters of red blossoming at the point of impact.

“Steak!” Red Wine yelled, dizzy from the cage being knocked over. 

Steak felt a hint of relief at seeing Red Wine and seeing him safe, but it was overpowered by the anger and hatred that no longer belonged to him. It ran rampant, and threatened to consume him and quickly. His own judgment eluded him, and he was unable to control the devastation and terror he rained down upon the Academy members rushing in to oppose him.

He was Falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could anyone tell I took a little inspiration from Breath of the Wild? Because I totally did.
> 
> Some unrealistic mechanics here, but considering the Academy literally floats on clouds, I tried to throw together some explanation. For anything that doesn't make sense, just remember they're magic flames ;D
> 
> Grammar errors and editing overlooks; however, are unforgivable!! Please let me know if you see some, thanks!!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the last chapter of "Soulbonded"! There will be a little epilogue added later!

All alone again in the darkness. 

It wasn’t lonely, but it wasn’t pleasant either. 

It just _was_.

Before he even took form, he’d had an existence, even if he had no beginning or end, there was always just the middle, stretching on and on and on and on. 

The first light that brought him out was his first Master Attendant. That Duke from so long ago. 

Steak had his pride, and he had power, and even if his Master Attendant was proud and happy with him, his fiance was not, and her Food Soul seemed to have even more qualms with him. Even when Steak tried his hardest to bond with the other, even when their Master Attendants faced their feelings and lived together happily, that other Food Soul never accepted him.

_Crack_

After the Duke there was only darkness again. And even though there was no time; no concepts of long waits or short reprieves, Steak was bored. 

The vast expanse of eternity was only fun when it was bursting with life and possibilities. 

After the Duke and after the darkness there was Marie. The milkmaid who’d used her family’s secret fortune to summon a Food Soul and turn her life around. Steak loved Marie. And Marie loved him too.

In the short time as her Food Soul, Steak’s life was enriched, and he learned about love and what it meant to be human. Marie took comfort in his warmth, and called upon his fire multiple times. Fire, she had always said, was the essence of life.

The flames had always been part of his existence, and he was happy with them. They were destructive, and that dangerous force required a powerful master and exquisite control. Marie had loved them, and for her, he’d learned how to love the fire too, and how to control it. He’d prided himself on having low-heat flames that reduced the risk of things catching fire. 

He didn’t mean to burn down the barn. He didn’t mean to kill his Master Attendant; his love. 

_Crack_

After Marie there was still darkness. Always, always darkness; the never-ending fate of all Food Souls. Unlike humans, their lives never ended, they just repeated forever and ever and ever and ever and ever without stop. 

No end in sight, in life or in the abyss. For a Food Soul the opposite of living wasn’t dying; it was not being. 

No tangible form. No thought of the concept of tangible form, nothing but that icy hot darkness that permeated every unfathomable particle of his existence. 

After the Duke, after Marie, after the darkness, there were more. 

Other Master Attendants, more Food Souls. 

His coldness from the broken heart that was never repaired despite infinity being on his side pushed away the others. Steak told himself he never wanted friends. He never needed them. All he needed was to serve his Master Attendant until one of them died, then he would go back to the void, and the cycle would repeat forever and ever and ever…

_Crack_

But right now this, this was different. 

He didn’t die. His Master Attendant didn’t die. Steak was floating through the vast space between knowing and unknowing, but he hadn’t died. 

For the first time in his whole existence, there was a speck. 

It was impossible to move closer, he simply thought of being near the speck and he was, as if he’d never been far from it. Upon closer inspection he could see the tiny maroon sphere, with three fledgling tentacles and a large gaping eye. The sphere was covered in bumps, and it looked like a blob of refuse. 

_Why are you here?_

The blob blinked.

_I am you._

Steak never understood difficult philosophical concepts, but even within the nothingness where he was, he was sure there was a distinct line drawn between himself and this sphere. It had hard edges, and if Steak had hands, he could touch it. 

_I am me._

Again, the blob blinked. 

_I was born from those cracks._

And when Steak's focus was turned to it, he could see a cavern ripped through the fabric of nothing. A hole formed by many cracks. 

_I am all your inner thoughts. I can give you power to protect the one you love._

It was only for a moment, but he was shown Red Wine through the cavern, the terrified look on his face as he desperately tried to get off his bindings. Even in the nothingness, Steak could feel anger, self-doubt, shame, guilt, and rage piling up. 

/You are weak. I can give you power./

Outside of the abyss, Hell was breaking loose. 

Red Wine could clearly tell from the many times he’d fought them that Steak was devolving into an Uke Mochi. The tentacles and giant, gaping mouth sprouting from Steak’s back were telltale. 

The other Food Soul looked like a nightmare. 

His body had been nearly torn apart to accommodate Uke Mochi’s growth, and his face was blazing with fire spouting from every orifice. The skin that Red Wine had grown used to touching was charred, and the horns he so often teased grew and twisted at horrifying angles. Despite Steak’s simple-mindedness, he was pure at heart, so his Falling was unexpected. Something must have had happened.

With the heat surrounding him, slamming the shackles on the ground hard enough proved to break them, and Red Wine rubbed his wrists and ankles when he was free. 

“Steak!” he called, over the roar of the fire and the screams of Academy members who had rushed in to stop the Fallen Angel. Corpses and mangled bodies of the dying littered the floor, and Academy guards stood hesitantly at the door, struck with fear at the thought of having to face such a grotesque monster.

Even standing multiple yards away from the it made Red Wine sweat, but if Red Wine was going to get through to Steak, he would need to get closer. He used his speed to rush up the length of one of the tentacles. Others came flying at him, trying to stop his approach, and the retaliation told Red Wine that Steak was no longer in control at all. 

“Steak!!” Red Wine called again, dodging the tentacles and jumping to another as the one he ran on wobbled dangerously under him. 

Now that he was close, Red Wine swore Steak was possessed by a demon. He opened his mouth and hissed, burning flames falling from his charred cavern. Red Wine’s coat caught fire and he shed it, letting it fall and be engulfed by flames. He could nearly touch Steak, or whatever was left of him. Calling out would be pointless, he knew, and he reached a hand out to cup Steak’s face. His white glove, along with the skin on his hand, melted away almost instantaneously and Red Wine screamed in pain, but pressed on. He brought his other hand up to cup Steak’s cheek and for a moment, the monster paused, and the burning holes where Steak’s eyes were turned to look at Red Wine. 

“Steak,” Red Wine said, more gently than before, despite his hoarse voice. “You can stop, there’s no need to continue this any longer.”

The flames around the Food Soul’s face hissed until they were just smoke, leaving Steak’s burnt and barely recognizable face free of fire. Without the flames present, Red Wine was able to feel the tears that were falling down his face, though if they were simply from the pain of being burned, or from Steak’s Falling, he didn’t know. 

“Please, come back,” Red Wine said gently. “You know I hate to beg, but please come back. Come back to me.”

Feeling like it was the only thing left to do, Red Wine pressed his lips against Steak’s burnt ones. The taste of blood hinted at Red Wine’s lips, and he could taste the corruption, the pain, the agony, the rage, and the sorrow, and Red Wine knew it was all for him that Steak had gotten so enraged. 

“I am safe, as long as you are with me,” Red Wine said with bated breath when Steak still stood frozen. There was no way for him to know if he could even bring Steak back from such a point, but with Steak’s blood in his veins, he felt a rush, and a connection to the younger Food Soul. Steak was fighting, it was an uphill battle, and Red Wine didn’t know how he could tell, but he couldn’t give up on Steak. 

His hands, which had been cauterized from the fire, brushed against Steak’s face, and Red Wine tried to search it for a hint; anything that he’d needed to do to help Steak get past this and come back. As the moments ticked by, the flames slowly started to return and Red Wine racked his brain for anything he could do to stop this. 

And whether it was his own idea, or the influence that Steak had; connected to his heart and the same blood pumping through their veins, but the realization dawned on him plain and easy. So easy, in fact, that Red Wine couldn’t help but smile. 

“You simple-minded idiot. Is that all you wanted?” he joked, before leaning down and kissing Steak again. Despite the feelings being clear in his heart, he knew now that he’d never said them aloud before.

“I love you.”

_Crack_

With a shuddering gasp, Steak came to, ripped out of the void by following the pull he’d become so familiar with. That small spirit spoke words of promise and power, but there was only one person who made him even stronger than that odd sphere ever could. The magic dissipated, and the first thing he registered was unimaginable pain all over his body. 

He screamed, and the giant tentacles began crumbling into ash from the tips, and where they sprouted from Steak’s body, they went back, repairing where they had burst forth. The magic and Uke Mochi had lofted them into the air, so when they ceased, the two of them began falling before crashing to the ground. 

“Get a healer!” Mithra shouted, the first person from the Academy to make a move. 

“We don’t have anyone experienced enough to deal with this much damage!” someone responded, covering his nose from the scent of burnt flesh. 

“Well, bring Erika and her Food Souls here now, they can fix this!”

“R...ed…”

“Don’t speak,” Red Wine hissed. Now that the emergency was over, he could see how horrible Steak’s wounds were. His eyes had been burned out as well as all the skin and some of the muscle on his face. The skin on his hands didn’t look much better either, and everywhere else was deformed; hastily put together by a Fallen Angel that had shoved itself back inside Steak. His essence was leaking from him everywhere, and _fast_.

Red Wine didn’t know how long he sat there, not moving his hands so as to reduce the amount of pain Steak felt. He knew now that they were connected on a deeper level than either of them could have ever imagined, and through that connection, he knew Steak wasn’t dead, but he was very close to that precipice. 

“You’re not allowed to leave yet, you idiot. I don’t care if you’ll just be resummoned. You’re living right now. We’re here, and we have a job to do. People rely on us. Don’t you remember telling me that?” Red Wine said, feeling like his voice was the only thing keeping Steak holding on. 

“Red!” 

Red Wine didn’t even spare looking at Gingerbread, but the group rushed over, a collective gasp going up when they saw what was left of Steak. 

Sweet Tofu and Milk pushed through to the front, both laying hands on him to assess and stabilize his condition. Red Wine removed his own.

“Steak, stay with us!” Milk said, her face full of panic and tears prickling at her eyes. Even Sweet Tofu seemed affected by the look of Steak’s body. Master Attendant, who had not been ready for such a horrifying sight, vomited. 

Slowly, under the delicate care of the two healers, the fibers of Steak’s burnt away muscles began stitching themselves back together. It felt like hours before skin began to blossom over the revealed muscle, and both Milk and Sweet Tofu were sweating with exertion. 

Red Wine’s heart beat faster, and he knew Steak was crawling his way out from the throes of death. He wasn’t nearly out of the woods yet, but when Milk paused to take a slight break, Steak’s visage seemed calm and collected. Black Tea was there immediately, and she fed her own magic into Milk. The pale-haired girl stood, and gathering all the strength she had, created a magic rain which sped up Steak’s healing process, but also healed the burns Red Wine had himself. 

After casting it, she slumped into Black Tea’s arms. 

“I’ll take it from here,” Sweet Tofu remarked, the orange glow around his hands spreading like jelly to Red Wine too, revitalizing him. Erika ended up speaking with Mithra, and an older, more distinguished man away from them, avoiding the carnage and scent of death and rot. Red Wine couldn’t care less what they were talking about. 

It was evident that the only thing he could care about was Steak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH IT'S OVER AND THERE WAS EVEN SOME FLUFF MIXED IN.
> 
> I should probably save it for the Epilogue, but this is it folks! I'm glad you stuck around to see this through to the end with me!! This is the first multichap work I've ever completed and posted, and I honestly couldn't have done it without all of you guys! The motivation I got to write came directly from your comments and kudos, and every time I logged into AO3 and saw the hit counter higher than I ever believed it would go, it filled my heart with such joy. I never thought my little fanfic in the corner of this growing fandom would receive any recognition.
> 
> I've met some really great people because of this fanfic, and joined a really awesome SteakWine server (link: https://discord.gg/bphWBRK ) where I am constantly meeting and interacting with even more awesome people!
> 
> I just want to say thank you guys all again for reading this! For any of you who are thinking about writing fanfic of your own: DO IT!!! 
> 
> A quote from a great book I just got says this:
> 
> _"We make art because we like art. We're drawn to certain kinds of work because we're inspired by people doing that work. All fiction, in fact, is fan fiction._
> 
> _The best advice is not to write what you know, it's to write what you like. Write the kind of story you like best- write the story you want to read."_ \- Austin Kleon in "Steal Like an Artist"
> 
> Chances are, somebody else wants to read your stories too!


	18. Epilogue

Despite Sweet Tofu and Milk’s expertise, they hadn’t been able fix everything. 

Steak’s new eyes took some time to adjust to, but the healers had did a wonderful job, and his sight was actually better than before. 

He had some scars, mainly on his hands and face, but through multiple treatments and lots of medicinal salves, they were nearly unnoticeable. Only those who had been there could see them.

His horns had been made into their regular shape. After not shrinking back to their normal size, constant filing, sanding and oiling helped return them to a more familiar shape. Red Wine was very helpful when it came to Steak’s horn maintenance, much to Steak’s discomfort. 

With extensive therapy the new tendons and muscles he’d developed were working like a charm, and he was expected to be able to train in no time, so long as he kept it light and didn’t overexert himself. For Food Souls, time wasn’t much of a bother, considering they didn’t age, but the treatment and recovery aged their Master Attendant. 

Hair growth, however, was one thing that was outside of their powers. 

Steak watched as Red Wine tried to contain a laugh, styling the little bit of red hair he _did_ have. The vampire never commented on his lack of hair before, but now that Steak was virtually good as new, Red Wine became more comfortable with teasing him again. 

“I actually think the undercut looks rather dashing,” he hummed, brushing his fingers through the red hair. 

“Bullshit,” Steak grumbled, shaking his head free from Red Wine’s touch. 

“Well, what else were we supposed to do with the fact it was growing in uneven? It looks much better than when you were bald.”

Steak didn’t even want to think about that. 

After his hair was finished, Red Wine accompanied him to the restaurant. 

“You know, contrary to popular belief, you don’t _have_ to follow me around everywhere I go,” Steak complained, though at this point, he desired Red Wine’s company. This had become their normal, and even their occasional jabs were full of love. 

“Yes, but you see, Steak, I want to; therefore, you’re stuck with me,” Red Wine responded, pouring himself a glass of wine from behind the counter. 

“Damn,” Steak said sarcastically before taking his food to sit down. Red Wine, of course, followed, bringing with him the entire bottle of wine. In the corner of the room he could see Spaghetti, and Steak scowled. 

“Did you ever tell me about the true story behind that guy?” Steak asked, giving a pointed look towards Spaghetti. Red Wine looked to where he was talking and sighed. 

“I met him during a bad time. It was after when we first met, and my growing thirst had gotten out of hand,” he explained, wincing. “I killed a woman of the night in the town that we both happened to live in-”

“You can say ‘prostitute’, you know.” 

“Shut up,” Red Wine quipped before continuing. “I had killed her to feed and Spaghetti saw me. I was terrified that something horrible would happen, but he just laughed, and he said he’d be interested in being my prey.”

Steak chewed his food deliberately, making sure he kept his flames calm and under control. 

“I had killed two more people before I finally swallowed my pride and sought him out. It’s when I learned the main difference from feeding from humans and Food Souls.”

Steak perked up. “Which is?”

“When I feed from humans, they either turn or die. I’ve tried to read about vampirism; however, most of it is just folk lore and fairy tales. I have yet to meet a vampire who was previously a human, but that is besides the point. Feeding from a Food Soul doesn’t carry such a risk. I assume it’s because we Food Souls are just naturally more durable and resistant to vampirism in general.”

“Interesting,” Steak said flatly, although he actually meant it. 

“Yes, so Spaghetti became the person I fed off of, mostly out of necessity. His blood never tasted very good, and as I knew him longer, it only became more foul. Just smelling it now repulses me,” he said, before tilting up his wine glass to finish off the ruby liquid. He poured himself another. 

“I haven’t managed to run into him since then, and I was grateful for it. He truly is a deplorable man.”

Steak didn’t feel like he needed to comment, so he shoved more food in his mouth. 

“Red Wine, Steak, how has it been?”

Black Tea’s familiar and comforting voice called from behind them, and Red Wine smiled at the woman. 

“We’ve been doing well, thanks to my wonderful bedside service,” Red Wine responded, earning a scoff from Steak. For the past year, he’d been asked the same question, and Red Wine responded in the exact same way every time; it was rather embarrassing. Their actions earned them a smile. 

“That’s good to hear. Milk tells me that your recovery is really going well, Steak. We can’t wait to have you back on the main team.”

The assumption of his return made Steak warm inside, and he couldn’t help but give his own smile to Black Tea. It was rare, but considering their bond and everything they’d been through, she could bear witness to Steak’s happiness. 

As if Red Wine felt the exact emotion, he smiled at the red head, nudging his leg under the table. Having these connections was strange, but Steak knew now that nothing except his bonds could make him stronger than. 

Having friends and family that he cared about and vowed to protect made him recover by leaps and bounds, and he was itching to be able to try out that new strength. Not only the strength he found in his comrades, but also the strength he found in love, and he had Red Wine to thank for that. Before he would shy away from romantic and compromising feelings, but it saved him before, so now he welcomed those feelings.

Steak could feel unprecedented power bubbling through his veins, and through the unique connection he had with Red Wine, the vampire knew exactly what he was thinking. He felt as if he could take on a whole army of Fallen Angels, and with Red Wine by his side, he’d be unstoppable. 

When one was soulbonded, nothing was impossible.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to add me on Food Fantasy! I'm Nyk!
> 
> EDIT: If you're reading this fic and want to join the SteakWine Server, this is the official link!: https://discord.gg/2jrfTaR  
> Other links that I've posted previously won't work, so please use this one!


End file.
